Season 2 John's and Alex's life together
by Don't Fix Me Cuz I'm NotBroken
Summary: As their lifes in Atlantis start to change so does their relationship with each other. This is the second season of John Sheppard's and Alex Wilson's life together! Enjoy! I messed up fixing my story so the first chatper is at the very end! So sorry!
1. Chapter 2 He was so close

Chapter 2 He was so close

Doctor Parrish wanted me to come with him to this planet that could have new things to see. As much as I wanted to say no, John said it would be a good thing to get out of the city and go offworld.

It was me, Lorne and Parrish, "You know, when they told me I'd be travelling to another galaxy, visiting strange new worlds, defending humanity against unimaginable alien threats, this just is not what I pictured!" Lorne said, I laughed a bit as Lorne tried to trip me.

"We could be saving Earth, right here, right now, Major" Parrish said "Oh yeah? Hows's that?" Lorne asked, "Through a greater understanding of the long-term effects of severe ozone depletion on plant life. You may not want to admit it, but i'ts a real dange" Parrish said.

"Oh yeah! Sure! Global warming- Wraith attack. I see the similarity now, you're right! Yeah, its great!" Hey, not too far, Doct, OK?" Lorne said.

"Ah, not to worry, Major. I don't think there's much chance any animal could survive the long-term effects of exposure to the sunlight on this planet" Parrish repiled, "So not a place to build a summer home?" Lorne asked.

I laughed and tried to trip Evan, I looked over at him and smiled. I saw Parrish out of the coner of my eye looking at some planet. "Ah! It's the fact this vegetation is thriving! Somehow it's managed to persist despite what should be extremely destructive ionising radiation. Oh, would you look at that? Now what is a williamsonia suardiana doing here?" Parrish asked.

I started laughing but followed Parrish as Lorne stayed back a little, I was a little bit in front of Parrish when I saw something on the ground, "Major!" I yelled as I finally noisted what it was, it was a death Wraith. Evan squats down to check the Wraith out as we see bullet holes in him.

"Doesn't look like the sun killed him" Lorne said, "What do we do?" Parrish asked, "Kaufman, this is Lorne, any activity?" Lorne asked, "No, Sir" Kaufman repiled.

"We got a dead sucker here, looks KIA, no more than a day old. We're on our way" Lorne said, "C'mon, Doc, let's get you back to the Gate" I said.

"I-I don't understand" parrish said, "Well, neither do I. All I know is he didn't do that to himself. C'mon. Let's go" I said.

Me and Lorne were reporting to John and Weir, "Is the Gate covered?" John asked, "Kaufman and Reed, yeah" Lorne repiled.

"We found a dead Wraith. Shot several times" John said, as Teyla entered, "Looked like bullets, but it's hard to say. The guy was a mess" Lorne said.

"The Genii have such weapons" Teyla said, "Doctor Beckett is performing an autopsy. Oh! Here he is now" Weir repiled.

"I'm not done, not nearly, but I thought you might like to know this. The enzyme sac under the right arm has been removed" Beckett said.

"Ford!" John said, "What's going on?" McKay asked, "Thanks for coming, Rodney" John repiled sarcastically.

"What? I was right in the middle of a.." McKay said, "P3M-736. We found a dead Wraith, maybe killed by Ford" I said, "He could still be there" John repiled.

"Whoa, wait a second. 736? The UV index there during the day is something like a thousand" McKay said, "Bring your sunscreen. Be ready in ten minutes" John repiled. I laught but followed John, he walked so fast that it was hard to keep up but thank god, i've been working out lately because then I won't be able to catch up to him in time.

"John, I'm going back with you" I said, "No, your not" he repiled "Why not?" I asked, Because Fords not himself right now and I don't need you getting hurt, Alex" John repiled.

"John I need to go too. I knew Ford a long time, it might help to have me there" I said, "No, Alex. Thats the end of the story, I can't and won't let you get hurt because of him" he repiled as strong minded about it as anything he has ever set his mind too. Just as I was about to say something more about it, Caldwell walked up and started talking to John.

"Colonel!" Caldwell said, "Colonel" John repiled, "Something urgent?" he asked, "We think we have a bead on Ford" John repiled, "So I heard" he said.

"That was fast" John said, "Base protocol dictates all senior officers be notified of situations Code Orange and above" Caldwell repiled, me and John walked in the transporter and John presses a button on the panel. Caldwell jumped in right before the door closed.

"How does that go again? Red, Orange, Blue or the other way around? You mind if we go over that again when I get back?" John asked.

"Colonel!" Caldwell yelled, "You don't have to remind me of our respective positions or that you outrank me, sir" John said, "I was wondering if I needed to remind you that LIeutenant Ford is a significant threat to the security of this base" Caldwell said.

"He's also a friend in need" John said, "His condition forces him to seek out the Wraith. If he's caught, he would compromise" Caldwell said.

"Look, I'm gonna find him, and I'm gonna bring him back" John said, "According to Doctor Beckett's report, there may not be anything that can be done to help him" Caldwell said, "With all due respect, sir, I hope you're not saying what I think you're saying" John said.

"Lieutenant Ford has already proved resourceful enough to prentrate security and escape the city. I'm saying if you encounter him and there's any chance whatsoever that his capture might prove elusive, you are duty bound to eliminate the threat. Lieutenant Ford may have been your friend, but he's not anymore. I know you understand, you'll do what's right. You didn't seem to have a problem with mercy when it came to Colonel Sumner" Caldwell repiled.

John walked away after Caldwell dismissed him, I looked at Caldwell. I wanted to punch him in the face, I knew John still regeted what he did to Sumner. "Caldwell, I know that I'm not in the Air Force or anything but John is smart and he will do what he think is right wether that is bring Ford home or killing him" I said.

"I never said he wouldn't do what was right" Caldwell repiled, "Thats what you were thinking though, you have been wanting John's job for a while now but just because he may mess up once in awhile doesn't mean he isn't a good Colonel and won't do his job right" I said walking off without another word to Caldwell.

It was a very long day waiting for John and his team to come back to the city, I tried to keep my mind off the fact that Ford could hurt John, Teyla, Lorne, McKay or any of the other men on that planet. I got caught up on mission reports and did a lot of working out while John was off-world. Working out was one of the best ways to get my mind off John in dauger yet again. I always had time to clean up and shower before John came back but this time I heard from Zelenka that they were back, I ran up to the conference room as fast as I could to see what was going.

"I shot him once. Didn't slow him down" John said as I walked in, "I shot him too" McKay said as poud as he could be, "He ran into the beam" John repiled.

"Are you suggesting he wanted to be taken?" Weir asked as she nodded to me to sit down, "I think he saw it was the only way off the planet" John repiled.

"Well, I can tell you from the quality time I spent with Ford, he was definitely not thinking staight" McKay said, "Now thanks to you, he's in enemy hands with infomation that could compromise all of us" Caldwell said to John.

"I don't think he'll give us away" John said, "Oh, thank you so much for your ssurance, Colonel. I'll be sure to include your 'feelings' in my report" Caldwell repiled. Me and John headed back to our room to shower and get ready for dinner.

After dinner, me and John went back to our room to get ready for the night, I was sitting there thinking on the chair we had set up outside our room. John walked behind him and wrapped his arms around hugging me, I turned around and kissed his forhead. I knew he just wanted welcome the quiet, the down time and the alone time we got together. We either worked together off-world or I was stuck here while he risked his life fighting for this city. We both knew that Ford might be dead right now but we just didn't want to talk because if Ford was brought up, it would be to painful to talk about right then and there. All John said that night outside was "He was so close".


	2. Chapter 3 I thought it was funny

Chapter 3 I thought it was kinda funny

About two weeks after we had found Ford on a planet that me, doctor Parrish and Major Lorne had been on, we were looking for survivors of a culling and thankfully I got John to let me tag on this mission.

"Alirght, I'm about ready to call this one. Doesn't look like there are any survivors" John said, "The cullings are getting more and more intense" Teyla repiled.

"WEll you said it yourself: too many Wraith woke up at the same time. Too many mouths to feed- or..hands to feed" John said, "Welll, we're heading back to the Gate, meet you there?" Lorne asked.

"Sounds like a plan. McKay, Beckett: you havin' any luck?" John asked, "Negative, Colonel, we haven't found anyone" Beckett said. I was with Beckett, Rodney and Lieutenant Cadman.

"Make your way back to the Gate" John said, "Will do. Beckett out" he repiled.

We continue to walk, Cadman reachs down and pulls up some flowers then turns to McKay.

"So maybe you should pick some wildflowers from around here, I think she'd get a kick out of that" Cadman said.

"What are you talking about?" McKay asked, "You've got a date tomorrow tonight with Katie Brown, right?" Cadman asked.

"She's a bontanist, she never gets to go offworld, so" I said, "What's this now?" Beckett asked, "It's nothing, nothing" McKay repiled.

"You have a date, Rodney? With a woman?" Beckett asked as I started laughing wondering if he was going to catch what Beckett said.

"It is simply two adults sharing some friendly..Yes, with a woman!" McKay said. "Well, she's excited about it. Now sure why, though" Cadman said.

"How would you know?" McKay asked, "Girls' poker night. She knows a lot of things, McKay" I repiled.

"I'm sure it's none of your business. This is an inappropriate field conversation" McKay said, "What? I was just suggesting you might wanna pick some flowers" Cadman said.

"Yes, and maybe you should just do your job, which is to protect us" McKay said, "Shut up" Cadman said as I heard the buzzing sound she heard.

"Shut up? Let me tell you something.." McKay said, "Stop speaking!" I yelled, McKay finally stops talking long enough for us to hear buzzing.

"Dart" Cadman said, as she activates her radio, "We have a Dart incoming". "Move it!" I yell as we all start running. I pushed myself hard. "Seeing us will blow Atlantis' cover. Anyone get a clear shot, you take it, understand?" John said into the radio as I turned around to see Cadman getting closer to Carson and McKay.

"Scatter!" Cadman yelled as she shoved Carson in one direction. McKay and Cadman kept running, "McKay!"

As I turn around to see Cadman reaching out to push McKay away but the transport beam sweeps down and whisks them both away.

"It is heading towards the Gate. We damaged it but it is still on its way" Teyla said, "Wait, McKay and Cadman have been beamed aboard that Dart!" I yell as I run up to John and silde on the ground almost crying.

"We can't risk the Dart making it back to the hive ship" John said. The dart comes into view and starts heading straight towards the gate. John of course open fires on it and so do the others. Carson still running across the feild, looks up and sees the Dart roll and start hitting the ground right near him.

"What the hell d' you think you're doing?" Beckett said, "It was reaching for the self-destruct" John repiled, "He's the only one that cang et Cadman and McKay out!" Beckett said.

"I seriously doubt he'd oblige" John said, "Well, we'll never know now, will we?" Beckett asked.

"Is everyone alright?" Teyla asked, "We're fine. Hason, radio Atlantis. We want Zelenka here asap. We've got a problem" John said.

A little while later, Zelenka showed up and was working on the Dart. I had tried to figure it out but I couldn't, so Zelenka took over.

"Colonel!" Zelenka said, just then, sparks fly from the interface and Radek jumps up in terror. "First time offworld?" John asked.

"Yes" Zelenka said, "Well, if there were any more Wraith, they would have attacked us by now" John repiled, "Really?" Zelenka asked.

"If it makes you feel better. Did you find what we want?" John asked, "Uh, well, yes, but it's very complex. This interface controls the machine that dematerialises people, stores their infomation and then rematerialises them again when commanded to" Zelenka repiled.

"Great. Command it to!" John said, "Uh, I can't" Zelenka said, "From what we can tell, the materialiser is storing two lifesigns" I said.

"Yes" Zelenka said, "Which is good!" John repiled, "Yes, but there is only enough power in the Dart's energy cell to successfully rematerialise one of them. Power to the rematerialiser has been completely severed and emergency back-up power has been completely run down" I said, "Ok" John said not understanding what I was talking about.

"No, no, no sorry, Alex was unclear" Zelenka said.

"You have to decide which one we're going to beam out" I said, "It's a terrible choice to have to make" Beckett said, "It's easy. Beam out McKay, he'll figure it out how to get Cadman free" John said.

"Yes, they just read as lifesigns" Zelenka said, "Perfect! Alright that one" John said, "Go. Stand aside" I said.

Zelenka activates his computer and a beam shoots out of the Dart and a moment later, Rodney is standing there.

"Rodney, you OK?" John asked, "Mmm" McKay repiled as he keels over and drops to the ground, unconscious. Beckett rushed over and checked his pulse.

"His pulse is stable but I need to get him back to Atlantis" Beckett said, "Teyla, Lorne, Alex, Help the Doc head back to the city with McKay. We're gonna stay here with Zelenka, try to bring as much of the Dart back as possible" John said.

I had helped Beckett with McKay as much as I could then left to go get a shower in before I had to go help Zelenka with the Dart. John radioed me about 10 minutes after I was done to tell me to meet him and Zelenka in the Hangar to start working on the Dart. Rodney, Beckett, John, Teyla and Weir walked into the Hangar about an hour after I started working on the Dart.

Rodney was looking at a piece of the broken transformer.

"Oh, nice work!" McKay said, "We were running out of power. I knew hardly anything about the machine. Who would have thought this could be one of the side effects?" Zelenka asked.

"So, instead of waiting to *understand* what it was you were doing, you just sort of mashed on the keyboard hoping something would happen!" McKay yelled.

"Well, you're alive, aren't you?" Zelenka asked, "He doesn't know how to fix it!" McKay said.

We all stare at him as if hes crazy, "What?" I asked, "I'm talking to her!" McKay said.

"You can hear her thoughts?" Weir asked, "No, not her thoughts, thank god. I can hear when she's speaking..when she's trying to speak" McKay repiled.

"Are you sure he should have been discharged from the Infirmary, Carson?" Weir asked, "According to the MRI, he's as healthy as he ever was" Beckett repiled.

"Well, we can't all be track stars, now, can we? It was her again" McKay said.

"Maybe there's something wrong an MRI wouldn't pick up, if you know what I mean" John said to Beckett, "I'm not crazy, I just have another consciousness in my brain" McKay said.

"So he just looks crazy" John said, "I'm sure I do, but only because Doctor Fumbles McStupid over here was in way over his head!" McKay yelled.

"Yes, Yes, *I* made a mistake trying to save YOUR life. Now, d'you want to try to fix it, or do you want to continue to berate me somewhat?" Zelenka asked.

"I'm perfectly capable of doing both at the same time. Now, I assume you've tried to run one of our own generators on it?" McKay asked, "It's not as simle as that" Zelenka repiled.

"The trick is having in interface with the Wraith machine in real time. The power fluctuations are, are, are huge. Er, if we overshoot just a little" I said.

"We're screwed up" Zelenka said, "Yeah, yeah. Um, I'm sure if we can maybe run an interface programme that will take care of all the. Uh, here's what I want us to try. We'll take a, uh, naqahdah generator. And, um...and uh, YES! WHAT?. WEll, stop asking stupid questions!" McKay said.

"Rodney" Beckett said, "I will get you out of here, OK? Now just be a good little girlie and keep quiet" McKay said.

"And do you have a degree in physics, hmm? Well, what about mechanical engineering, huh?" McKay asked, "Rodney?" Weir asked.

"YES? sorry, I'm sorry. What, please?" McKay asked.

"Why don't we let Zelenka handle this?" Weir asked, "I'm fine" McKay said, "No, you're not" John said.

"And I'd like you to talk to Doctor Heightmeyer" Weir said, "I think it'd be more useful if I was" McKay repiled.

"I think it'd be more useful if I was" McKay said, "Rodney. I'm not asking you" Weir said, "Fine" McKay repiled as he walked away. Me and John went go eat dinner after he was done testing the guy they had found when we ran into Ford.

We were just walking about to our room when we saw McKay walking through the halls, "You're up late" John said.

"Mmm. I couldn't sleep, I was, uh, trying to clear my head" McKay said, "I, uh, hear the transformer test didn't go so wel" John said.

"Well, you heard right" McKay repiled, "uh, listen. I wanted to know that I gave the command to take the Dart down" John said.

"Well, much as I'd like to pretend that this is remotely your fault, the thought of waht would've happened if you hadn't shot the Dart down is, uh.." McKay said, "so we're cool" John said.

"No, you're cool, I'm fine" McKay said, "you should get some sleep" John said. Pointing to his head, "She says she's tired" McKay said.

Me and John walked into the Gym later the next morning, John was late yet again for a sparring lesson with Teyla. When the door opened, we saw Ronon and Teyla sparring.

"I thought we were supposed to be sparring today?" John asked, "You were late. So Ronon and I" Teyla said as she turned her dead towards us. Ronon immediately knocked her sticks out of her hand and rushes over grabbing her by the throat. I jumped at the sight, Teyla struggled and he roars and throw her ferouciously to the ground, still pinning her by the throat.

John ran forward and beads down to them and putting his hand on Ronon's.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" John asked, "I wouldn't have hurt her" Ronon repiled, "You sure in hell looked like you were going to. You OK?" John asked.

"I am fine. I told him that he didn't have to go easy on me" Teyla repiled as Ronon pushed me against the wall to get past me.

"You've gotta be careful what you say to this guy" John said. Me and John had a sparring lesson with each other, It was different sparring against John because he went to easy on me.

I kept telling him, I was just as good as him. Maybe even better than him but he wouldn't stop taking it easy on me. I loved how sweet he was but this is it, I pushed my sticks against his chest pushing him against the wall and kissing his check. He looked at his watch after kissing me back, after he saw what time it was. He went to go talk to Weir and than maybe go check up on McKay. I walked back to our room to shower from sweating so much, about half an hour later. I was walking down the halls to go get something to eat and when I saw Beckett and John running toward the Hangar, I followed.

McKay was there saying that he figured out how to fix it, "Hold on, Rodney, I thought all the mice died?" John asked.

"Well, what are we mice or men?" Mckay asked, "Are you sure about this?" Weir asked, "Absoultely, yes" McKay repiled.

"Ok" Weir said, "Just...give me a second. Well, Laura, it's been, um...unique. Good lock to us both, right?" McKay asked.

"Alright. It's ready. I suggest you take a step back" Zelenka said as I stepped back with John, Beckett and Weir.

"Wait!" Cadman's voice came out, Mckay turns and walks purposefully over to Beckett, grabs him by the lapels of his lab coat and pulls him close and kisses him passionately.

"Just in case this doesn't work. Just, just hit it" McKay said after Cadman.

"OK, it's reading as two lifesigns. Power levels are steady" Zelenka said, "get 'em out of there!" John yelled. After we got McKay and Cadman to the Infirmary, me and John went to go to bed.

We laid there not talking but I wanted to laugh so bad. Finally I couldn't hold it in any longer and started laughing, John looked at me and I started laughing harder. He laughed with me for a while then we fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 4 Are You Sure Your Okay?

Chapter 4 Are you sure you are ok?

John had a mission this morning, I wanted to go but Ronon was going this time so I stayed back to get caught up on some work. I was talking so many laugnges that morning, I wish i didn't learn so many. I radioed Weir asking if I could work in the control room.

As I was working in the control room, the Gate activated and we didn't recieved no IDC then the Gate shut down.

"What happend?" Weir asked, "The Gate activiated but nothin came through" I repiled, "Colonel Sheppard?" Weir asked, "So we assume. We recieved no IDC, a few moments later, the gate shuts down" I said.

"They should have returned by now. Dail the planet and try to establish a radio link" Weir said,"Yes, Ma'am" I repiled.

"Major Lorne, This is Weir" she said, "go ahead" Lorne said, "I may have to go offworld to assist Colonel Sheppard. I'd like you to assemble a team and have a Puddlejumper ready to go" Weir said, "Yes, Ma'am" Lorne repiled.

I had to go with Weir too, I asked her and she didn't seem to think anything was wrong with it. But she told me that if anything had happened to John that I must contorl myself.

"All set?" I asked, 'Ready to go. Don't worry, we'll find them" Lorne said, "I was hoping to negotiate a trade agreement" Weir said sitting down.

"Now I'm worried you are going to have to negotiate their release" I said, "We don't know that" Lorne said looking at me.

"Dail the Gate, but go the stealth mode the moment we're through" Weir said.

"They have not returned to the planet?" The magistrate asked, "No, and we haven't been able to establish radio contact with them either" Weir repiled.

"They didn't return to the city. Perhaps they travelled through the Ring to another Planet" The magistrate, "No, they would have radioed first" I said.

"Something must have happened on the island. I'll alert our security teams, have them begin a search" Marin said, "We'll join them" Lorne said, "I would advise against that" The magistrate repiled.

"Would you?" I asked, "The island is extremely dangerous. Our ships are heavily armoured. We know the terrain, as well as the prisoners tactics. Don't worry, we'll find them" The magistrate said.

"I hope you do, Magistrate, for all our sakes" Weir said, "Of course" The Magistrate said. I was siting in the room Marin and the magistrate lead us to.

"Lorne, do you think Johns alright?" I asked, "Of course, Sheppard knows how to take care of himself" Lorne repiled.

The magistrate came into the room, "I'm afraid the news is not good. Our rescue teams had just begun their search on the island when the Ancerstal Ring activated" he said.

"The Wraith?" Weir asked, "it appears a culling is under way. We're not sure how many ships are involoved but our teams were forced to fall back. We're not giving up hope. I'll send teams back in the moment the Wraith are gone. Hopefully, your friends will have evaded the culling. I must attend to this" he repiled.

About 2 hours later, Marin walked in looking back to make sure no one was following her.

"Marin? What's happened?" Weir asked, "No-one must know I'm speaking to you" she repiled, "of course" I said, "you should leave, as soon as possible" Marin said.

"Why?" Lorne asked, "The Magistrate has just rescinded my orders to send rescue teams back to the island" she repiled.

What?" Why would he do that?" I asked, "Several arrest have been made. Many people in the city have been apprehended for unspecified violations, to be sent to the island to increase the popation there" she repiled.

"To keep the Wraith fed" Lorne said, "It's been going on for some time, but never so bad so this. The numbers of arrests has.. I cannot keep quiet any longer. I have to speak out" Marin said.

The door open and the Magistrate walked in, "Lies! Seeding fear not onlt among your own people but now our guests. I cannot allow it" The magistrate said.

"I was only trying to understand why so many people are being arrested" Marin repiled, "Your job is not to question the actions of this government" The magistrate said as he gestures and a coupe of guards step forward and take Marin's arms.

"No! Wait! Help me! Please!" Marin said, "Where are they taking her?" Weir asked, "I'm sorry you had to witness that" He repiled.

"What crime has she committed?" I asked, "I've recently learned that Marin has been involved in a group seeking to undermine the Olesian government. She's become very adept at spinning lies to suit her organisation's treasonable agenda" The magistrate repiled.

"Did you or did you not rescind the order to send rescue teams back to the island?" I asked, "Why would I do that?" he asked.

"That doesn't concern me. My first concern's with the safety of my people and I promise you" Weir said.

"Everything is being done to ensure their rescue and safe return. If there's been any hindrance at all, it was because of Marin" he said.

"What's gonna happen to her now?" Weir asked, "She'll receive a fair trail in our courts" The magistrate repiled.

"And then what? Send to the island?" Lorne asked, "I'm sure where you come from, treason is also considered a very serious offence" He repiled.

"So that's a yes" Lorne said, "Tell me: what else is considered a serious offence around here?" Weir asked.

"Anything that threatens the welfare of the Olesian people" he repiled, "Are you sure it's the welfare of the people that concerns you? or just your own?" Weir asked.

"Choose your words very carefully, Doctor Weir" he repiled, "Oh, I do. Why, is that a threat?" Weir asked, "It's advice, from one ally to another" he repiled.

"Well, this alliance, it's just been rescinded. We're leaving. What, you plan to arrest us too? Because you do not wanna do that" Weir said. as the guards try and stop us from leaving.

"We've got a Wraith cruiser heading for the island and I'm picking up several more on approach outside the atmosphere" Lorne said, "Go to stealth mode. Let's find our guys before they do" Weir said.

We were approaching the cruiser when we see a drone shot up and hit the underside of the cruiser. "Colonel Sheppard. You've damaged the Wraith cruiser and it's leaving the area. But there are two more cruisers incoming" Weir said.

"Elizabeth, where are you?" John asked, "We're in Jumper two. We've cloaked, directly above you. Are you alright?" Weir asked.

"Our Jumper's disabled. Right now I need you to dail the Gate to one of the back-up planets for the Alpha Site. Doesn't matter which one" John repiled.

"Understood. Do it" Weir said, Lorne start to dail, John told us that we needed to keep the Gate open until the last of the guys went through then to dail Atlantis.

We all got home safety and we had to debelif. After we got done, me and John went to go get some dinner. We got to the mess hall and Ronon was sitting there.

"Hello Ronon, my name is Alexura Wilson but you can call me Alex" I said sitting down, "Nice to meet you" Ronon repiled.

"So how are you liking being on John's team?" I asked, "Its fine" Ronon repiled, "Alex likes to get to know people by inteorring them" John said laughing.

I hit his arm and laughed, we got done with dinner and went to our room. John sat down and put his hands on his head, "Are you ok?" I asked sitting down next to him, "Yeah, I'm fine" he repiled.

"Are you sure you are OK?" I asked, "Yes, Alex. I'm fine, i'm gald I'm home and happy that I'm with you" he repiled kissing my check. We fell asleep, waking up to McKay radioing us that he found something he wants to go check out.

John begged me to go with them because maybe I could explain things better to him then McKay could. I couldn't say no to tagging on a mission.


	4. Chapter 5 McKay Feels Bad About It

Chapter 5 McKay feels bad about what happened

McKay was talking to Ronon on the way to the planet, "I'm just saying as a team veteran to the new guy: heavy luch before mission departure- bad idea. I mean, even with the inertial dampeners, this whole flying thing's best done on an empty stomach" McKay said.

"Yeah, well, I've got a pretty strong stomach" Ronon repiled, "Hey, I can eat frozen dinners without thawing them. It's not as if it even affects me" McKay said.

"Alex, are you reading anything?" John asked, "Nothing. Life signs from the planet are negative" I repiled.

"Then it is a shame. From what we read in the Atlantis database, the Dorandans were a wonderful race of people" Teyla said.

"Well, the database is over ten thousand years old. You can bet things have changed around here" I said, "Sheppard" Ronon said as he stands.

John looks and sees that they are flying towards a bedris field above the planet. "Ok, that's not something you see every day" John said.

"There was a great battle here. That is a hive ship" Teyla said, "that was a hive ship" Ronon said.

"Something put a lot of holes in it alright. We should check it out" John said, "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. What if whatever put the holes in it wants to put holes in us?" McKay asked, "Well, Alex just said, a lot's changed in ten thousand years" John said.

John goes down towards the planet. As we break through the clouds, we see a ruined city.

"That would explain the lack of life signs" McKay said, "This is what usually happens when you fight back" Ronon said.

"These folks took out a fleet of Wraith ships. I'd say they did a pretty good job of fighting back" John repiled,"Hold on, I'm picking up faint energy readings coming from there. That would explain how they were able to put up such a good fight" I said.

"How?" John asked, "Because..they were Ancients" McKay said. Shortly after, we saw the building, we landed on the top, were a large weapon of some sort was there.

We climbed down a metal ladder into what looks like a laboratory. We were looking around with flashlights, McKay walks over to a console.

"Definitely Ancient design. Their latest stuff, too. Their latest being ten thousand years old" McKay said, "Looks a lot like the labs we found on Atlantis" John said, "So this is one their outposts" Ronon said "Yet the Ancestors made no mention of their presence here in the database. Why?" Teyla asked.

"Well, let's find out. Can you power it up?" John asked, "Working on it" I said, "I got two bodies here" John said.

"I got there more over here. Whatever happened here, no-one came back to claim the dead" Ronon said.

"Can't tell if they were fed on by the Wraith" John said, "Yeah, well something killed them" Ronon said.

"Something killed everyone on this world" Teyla said, "Now why is this outpost, if that's what it is still intact? Doesn't make sense. What do you think, Rodney?" John asked, "Ha! Sorry, I wasn't listening, but it just stuck me that, if this is an Ancient outpost, why would the Wraith leave it intact?" McKay asked, I look over to Teyla, Ronon and then John.

"It's a good question" John said, "Huh. Alright so" McKay said.

We went back to Atlantis and we reported to Weir about what we found, "So it's a military research facility" Weir said.

"From what we can tell, it's a ground-based version of the satellite weapon we used to destroy that hive ship" John said.

"With one major exception. Firepower. I mean, if that single outpost was resonsible for destorying an entire Wraith fleet" I said, "And you're suer it was this weapon that destroyed all those Wraith ships?" Weir asked.

"It had to be. There's nothing on the planet that suggests the Dorandans had anything capable of infilicting anywhere near that much damage" John said.

"If we could learn of such technology, we could defend other words from being culled" Teyla said, "It didn't save the Dorandans" Ronon said.

"Yeah, but at the end of the day the outpost was still standing and that means, uh...well, i'm not sure what that means, but it means something definitely worth checking out" McKay said, "Colonel?" Weir asked.

"He's right. It's definitely worth sending a reasarch team back" John said, "Good! Well, give me Optican, Collins, and Zelenka if he's over the stomach flu and oh Wilson. We'll try to access the computer's log books, see if we can decipher them. Once that" McKay said.

"OK! OK! Easy sell. Go" Weir said, "Oh good!" McKay repiled, and he hurries off.

John, me, McKay and half a dozen sicentist were in the lab. "I'm telling you, at least point zero nine percent" Zelenka said, "Oh please, please, move the decimal place. I mean, it's-it's-it's impossible, for God's sake" McKay repiled.

"Have we figured out what this is?" John asked, "No" I said, "No, I wouldn't say no, no we have a theory" Zelenka said.

"But we don't know yet" McKay said, "No, but based on the shielding around the chamber, what else could it be?" I said, "Have you tried turning it on" John asked, "That's what we're workingon. The problem is that there's no direct link btween it and the main power control systems, which among other things, has led us to theorise that it's an ancillary power supply for the weapons system" McKay repiled.

"Cool!" John said, McKay points to John's face while looking at Zelenka and me, "See that? See? See the way he lights up at the mention of that? It's like Doctor vogel at the mention of pastries" McKay said, "They found out a way to soup up their space guns" John said.

"Yes, but it's-it's much more than that" Zelenka said, "Well, the sticking point is that there's no tie between the power generator and the primary capacitor" McKay said.

"Meaning they would have a channel the power directly into the weapon" I said, 'Which I'm sure means nohthing to you" McKay said.

"It means they can fire multiple bursts without having to store up more power for the next firing sequence" John said, "Yes, very good" McKay said.

"Which leads me back to 'cool" John said, "Hmm" McKay said, "Yes, but it only makes sense if we're right" Zelenka said.

"About what?" John asked, "Tell him" Zelenka said, "Not yet" McKay said, "Come on, McKay, you read equations. What else could it be? An ancient typo?" Zelenka repiled.

"Well, we know they're not perfect, because they'll all dead. Look, I just, I just don't want you to get all excited over nothing" McKay said.

"Well, maybe you're right" John said, "Alright, I'll give you a hint. It seems that the Ancients were experimenting with high-energy physics on a level that we've never seen before" McKay repiled.

"Wow" John said, "Yes, wow. I just- I wanna be sure" McKay said, "I'dd do my best to wait" John said.

About an hour after that, we got ready to head back to the city. John radioed Atlantis, "This is Weir, go ahead, Colonel" she said, "We're on our way back. Rodney wants to fill you in" John repiled.  
"I take it you found something interesting" Weir said, "Interesting? How about the greatest discovery of all time?" McKay said.

"He's pretty exicted" John said, "So I hear. You couldn't even wait 'til you got back" Weir said, "I wanted to send an encoded data burst directly from the outpost to the secure network in my lab while the Gate was active. Now" McKay said.

"Care to fill me in so I can be excited too?" Weir asked, 'It's a weapon" John repiled, "It is much much more than a weapon. We think we've stumbled across the Ancients' last great discovery. It was too late to win the war for them but I think if I can finish the work they started, then" McKay said.

"What is it?" Weir asked, "It is the ultimate power source, something that would make Zero Point Modules seem like alkaline batteries in comparison" McKay repiled.

We got back to Atlantis and started to tell Callwell and Weir what we found, "It was called Project Arcturus and, from what we can tell, its ultimate goal was to render ZedPMs obsolete" I said.

"How?" Weir asked, "A Zero Point Module is an artificially created region of subspace time. It's kind of like a miniature universe in a bottle" I repiled.

"It extracts vacuum energy from this artificail region of subspace time until it reaches maximum entropy" Zelenka said.

"So what's the different about this thing?" Caldwell asked, "Project Arcturus was attempting to extract vacuum energy from our own space-time, making it pontentially as powerful as the scope of the universe itself" I repiled.

"It strikes me as something the Ancients would have tried first, even before ZeePMs" Caldwell said, "And they may have, but extracting zero point energy from our own universe is...well, it's, uh, definitely tricker" McKay said, "Explain trickier" Weir said.

"Well, because we actually have to live in our own universe, it presents a while range of problems" I said, "Well, obviously it's not that easy or Atlantis wouldn't still rely on ZeePMs" Caldwell said, "Well, you're right. The Ancients couldn't make it work" John said.

"I said I wanted to do all the talking" McKay said, "Come on, Rodney, Arcturus was a total failure" John repiled.  
"Failure, yes. Total, no. Look, the Ancients were losing the war against the Wraith when work on th Arcturus began. If they could have made it work, it could have turned the tide of war. I mean, we're talking about their own Mahhattan Project here" McKay said.

"The outpost was ordered by the Anceinets in Atlantis to defend the Dorandan people using their weapons powered by this new power source" John said.

"Yes, but despite their strong reservations that it was not ready to be tested under battle conditions" I said, "the point is, the Wraith won" John said.

"Yeah, but the Dorandans still inflicted massive damage on the Wraith fleet" McK said, "I'm not saying they didn't put up a hell of a fight" John said, "The logs indicate there was a major malfunction" I said.

"Well, yes, the Ancients in the bunker were forced to shut everything donwn, including the weapon" McKay repiled.

"The Wraith sent more ships, the Dorandans got wiped out" John said, "So if the malfunction hadn't occurred, the Ancients would have saved the planet?" Caldwell asked, "Definitely" Mckay said.

"Possibly. Don't sugar-coat this, Rodney" John said, "The Ancient scientists running Arcturus were rushed into testing before they had perfected a means of effectively contorlling the power output. I believe if they'd had more time, history would have played out differently on that planet, possibly in this galaxy" McKay said.

"I won't deny that this is something that we'd dearly love to get our hands on, but the Ancinets were pretty bright bunch" Caldwell said, "And desperate, and losing a war they'd alreayd been fighting for a hundred years. More importantly, they were they were like this close" McKay said.

"And you believe you can finish their work?" Weir asked, "I do" McKay repiled, "We do" Zelenka said, "They do" John said.

We were back at the outpost, we worked, worked and worked. John was there helping out, I was trying to control myself before I punched McKay in the face for being so annoying. McKay kept yelling at us and telling us what to do even though half of us already knew what to do. We were going to try and test the weapon, "Radek, talk to me" McKay said.

"I'm picking up some minor power fluctations. Chamber temperature's holding steady. There it goes again" Zelenka said, "Everything OK?" John asked after walking away from the window that went into the chamber, "Everything's fine. The containment bubble was designed to automatically compensate for any sudden changes in energy putput" McKay said.

"This never happened in the simulations" I said, "Maybe we should abort" John said, "I said it's fine. Collins, see if you can boost more power to the feild manually" McKay said.

"You got it" Collins said as he heads for the Command Access Tube, "Prepare for test firing on my mark" McKay said.

"Levels just spiked into the red" I said as I saw OVERLOAD flash on my screen, "What?" McKay asked, "Shut it down. Shut it all down" John said.

"I'm trying" McKay repiled, "The interface is not responding" I said, "Alright, I'm gonna switch to back-ups" McKay said.

"Levels are going off the scale!" I said, "McKay?" John asked, "I have given the command to shut down. Something's draining the overload" McKay repiled, "we should evacuate" John said.

"Just give me a few seconds" McKay said, "We may not have that time" John said, "Wait, wait, wait. It's stabilising" I said, "Generator is offline" Zelenka said, "What the hell just happened?" John asked, "Obviously there was a surge of some kind. Look, Colli...Collins!" McKay said.

We run over to the Command Access Tube, we open the door to see Collins lying on the floor, smoke rising from his body. We can't see his face but he is burnt really badly, we take him back to Atlantis to get Beckett to look at the body. The whole way back, I couldn't stop seeing his body in my mind, Collins was a great guy, me and him became friends when he first came here.

We were in the conference room, "Officially my report will indicate Doctor Collins died due to radiation exposure, causing severe burns to well over ninety percent of his body" Beckett said.

"But it was more than that?" Weir asked, "Aye. Much more. To be honest, I have no idea what sort of radiation it was. I've never seen or heard of cellular decay this massive, not when exposure only lasted mere seconds" Beckett repiled.

"Collins' next of kin have been notified" John said, "Good. What went wrong?" Weir asked, "We're still analysing data from the test. All we know for certain was there was a massive power surge which, in turn, caused the containment field to expand asymmetrically in the direction of the Command Access Tube. As to why" I said, "How about human error?" Caldwell asked, "Excuse me?" McKay asked.

"Well, according to your reports, during the test, Doctor Collins made an adjustment to the containment field. Is it possible that he triggered the surge himself?" Caldwell asked, "Are you looking for a scapegoat, Colonel?" Weir asked.

"Not at all, Doctor. I'm admittedly looking for a rationale that would allow Doctor McKay to continue his very important work. Is there something work with that?" Caldwell asked, "No, Collins knew the system just as well as any of us" McKay repiled.

"He wouldn't have made that kind of miskate. Everything was going well; everyone did their job" I said, "Then what?" Weir asked.

"I don't know. In terms of physics, it shouldn't have happened" McKay repiled, "We're still analysing the data from the accident, it's going to take time" Zelenka said, "What I do know is the device did what it was supposed to do" McKay said.

"No, Rodney, it didn't" John said, "Well, apart from the obvious containment issues" McKay said, "It overloaded and you couldn't stop it" John repiled, "Well, we won't know for sure until we go back down there and try again" McKay said.

"Try again? Are you serious?" John asked, "Yes" McKay repiled, "A member of your team is in the morgue" John said, "And I am responisble for his death, yes. I am painfully aware of that. I sent him in there and I will have to live with that for the rest of my life. But we have responsibility to understand what happened and learn from it" McKay repiled.

"Rodney, we don't even know what went wrong" I said, "Which is why we have to go back" McKay said.

"I know how important this is to you, Rodney, but we knew when we came to Atlantis that we migth encounter certain technologies which, for the moment, are out of our reach" Weir said.

"It's not in this case" McKay said, "You have the data from your first attempt. You can run all the simulations you want" Weir said.

"C'mon, Elizabeth, you really think the military's gonna let this go, huh? I mean, at the very least we should be the first ones in there to spearhead the resarch" Mckay said, "That's what this is about? You wanna beat them to it? I'm sorry, the answer's no" Weir said.

Later that night, John was coming back from training new marines, I was laying on the bed. John came in then heard a knock on the door.

I stood by John while listening to McKay talk, "Harry K Dalling" McKay said, "Who?" John asked.

"He was a scientist worked on the Mahhattan Project at Los Alamos. He was only twenty-six years old. Accidentally irradiated himself while performing a critical mass experiment on two half- spheres of plutonium. Took him a month to die. While his body was slowly shutting gown from radiation posioning, you know what he did with his last thirty days, hmm? He worked. He tried until his last breath to understand what had happened to him so that others could learn from the tragedy, so that his work, his death, wouldn't be rendered meaningless. Now, have you considered what would have happened if they'd just shut the Project down after that?" McKay asked.

"This is different" John repiled, "Is it? Collins' death is a pointless waster of life unless something comes of this, and I am not sure that I can...I think I know what happened" McKay said.

"Let's hear it" John said, "Can I come in?" McKay asked, "No" John repiled, "The Ancients had it wrong. Our mistake was using their equations. Look, I just did the calculations again myself. I did them three times just to be sure and I am positive the problem is in the automatic containment protocols" McKay said.

"Ok, what'd you fix?" John asked, "I am propsing that we adjust the field strength manually" McKay repiled, "You saw how fast it spiked on you" John said, "So, we don't operate the generator at anywhere near its potential. Look, there's no need to be greedy. Even operating at fifty percent, it'll still generate the power of a dozen ZedPMs" McKay said.

"How come the Ancients didn't figure this out?" John asked, "Maybe they were caught up in the heat of battle. maybe they thought they needed as much power as they could get. Maybe they weren't smart enough" McKay repiled.

"And you are?" John asked, "No, I didn't say that, but I have the beneift of hindsight. They didn't, look this is big. This is the wheel, the light bulb, the hot dog big" McKay repiled.

"Best case scenario?" John asked, "I win a Nobel Prize" McKay repiled, "Worst case scenario?" John asked.

"We tear a hole in the fabric of the universe..which is much less likely to happen than the Nobel Prize. I mean, look, the risk are nothing compared to the potential benefits. Elizabeth will listen to you. I have never asked this of you before, but I think I've earned it. Trust me" McKay repiled.

John got Weir to say yes to going back to the planet, I had tried to get John to let me come but he said no, and that he didn't want anything happening to me. I was working in the control room and trying to help Zelenka finish going over the accident data. When we found something, "Doctor Weir, we need to speak to you right away" Zelenka said.

"What is it?" Weir asked, "I finished going over the accident data. I think I know why the Ancients abandnoned this technology" Zelenka repiled, we dailed the gate and radioed John.

"Colonel Sheppard, this is Atlantis" Weir said, "Go ahead" John said, "Is Doctor McKay with you?" Weir asked, "Of course I am, but we're a little busy getting ready to run a test here" McKay said, "Actually, I would like you to delay the test firing" Weir repiled.

"Why?" John asked, "We have reason to believe that the weapon's power source, it may not be contollable at any power level" Weir said.

"Radek?" McKay asked, "Rodney?" Zelenka said, "OK, we have been over this. I am doing this manually, at half power. It's a cakewalk" McKay said.

"I don't think it matters how much cake you walk on. I've been doing calculations of my own and I believe that the very act of trying to contain vacuum energy rom our own space-time creates an environment where the laws of physics cease to apply" I said.

"What are you on about?" McKay asked.

"As power output increases, new and exotic particles are continously created and destroyed inside the containment chamber, interacting with each other and with the field itself. Eventually particles are created that cannpt be prevented in this space-time, and they breach the containment field as hard radiation" I repiled.

"As long as I'm monitoring the energy output manually, I can stop that before it happens" McKay said, "You can't predict something that is inherently unpredicatable" I repiled, "Rodney?" John asked.

"I know what I'm doing" McKay repiled, "Rodney, I am trying to tell you as a friend, I have serious doubts" I said.

"Well, you're wrong. I'm sorry, but there it is. And to bring this up now when I am just about to do this smacks of nothing but professional jealously" McKay said, "Fine! Kill youself, just like the Ancients did!" I said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what do you mean by that?" John asked, "I believe if the overload is allowed to continue, the weapon acts as a sort of release valve to prevent catastrophic containment failure. The Ancients barely managed to shut it down, and they lost their lives in the process" I repiled, "What we're suggesting is that the Wraith didn't kill everyone on that planet, it was the weapon itself" Weir said.

"That would explain why this place is the only thing left standing" John said.

"Congratulations- you've solved the mystery of how the Ancinets screwed up ten thousand years ago. It doesn't mean that I will do the same. Look, I don't know how else to say this, but none of you are capable of understanding this on the same level that I do. And Zelenka, that includes you" McKay said.

"Rodney, I cannot afford to lose either one of you. Now tell me: can you do this?" Weir asked, "Yes" Rodney repiled.

"Are you sure?" John asked, "Yes" McKay repiled, "Are you sure you're sure?" John asked, "I said yes!" McKay repiled.

"Because if you're wrong" John said, "I'm not!" McKay said, "I'll can you back after the test, how does that sound?" John asked, "You'd better" Weir repiled. McKay ended up being wrong and destroyed three quarters of a solr system, John didn't trust McKay that much anymore, Rodney tried to get me to talk to John for him but I told him he needed to earn John's trust back his way. Not by having me talk to John for me, I was laying in bed that night, "John, McKay feels really bad about what happened" I said as I rolled over to face him.

"I know but I just don't know if I can trust him again" he repiled closing his eyes to go to bed.


	5. Chapter 6 What The Hell Happend?

Chapter 6 What the hell happened?

About three weeks, after what happened with John and McKay. John's team had a mission and I was working with Zelenka, me and Zelenka got to become really good friends.

We laughed and had fun but also worked hard to understand more about the Wraith, I was trying to use my Wraith powers as I called it like Teyla did but it was hard to work on them when Teyla was offworld.

Around lunch time, Zelenka told me to go take a break so when I heard John was in the Infirmary, I headed down there.

"A drug that allows the Wraith to survive without feeding?" Weir asked as I walked in, "That's what he said" John repiled.

"Is such a thing even possible?" Weir asked, "We don't know enough about Wraith physiology to say for certain, although I must admit it's intriguing that this Doctor Zeddik said the Wraith survived on normal food for a time" Beckett repiled.

"Why?" John asked, "Well, if he's telling the truth, it might be the answer to a very puzzling question. Right now, our best guess is that the Wraith evoloved from the iratus bug" Beckett repiled.

"Like the one that attached itself to my neck a year ago?" John asked, "that's right" Beckett repiled, "I hate those bugs" John said, "Trust me, I know. We speculated that they evolved into the Wraith when they began to take on the charactersitc of the humans they were feeding on" Beckett said.

"Now, there are many aspects of human physiology that are quite useful: bipedal motion, oppsable thumbs, large brain capacity...but the human digestive system serves no purpose in the adult Wraith. So why have one at all?" Beckett said

"Becuase they eat normal food when they're young?" I asked, "Exactly! Then at some point, they lose the ability to sustain themselves with that food" Beckett repiled.

"So it's a teenage thing? Pimples, rebellion, life-sucking?" John asked, Weir has her 'must you always joke?' face, then smiles slightly at John before turning back to Beckett.

"Something like that! The question is, what causes it? If it's due to some chemical dficiency, like a diabetic's inability to process sugar, then it's possible to maybe address with some kind of drug" Beckett repiled.

"Zaddik could be telling the truth" Weir said, "I'd like to go to the planet and check into it" Beckett said, "Is that really necessary? I'm sure we could get a sample, bring it back here for you to analyze?" Weir asked.

"It's not just the drug I'm interested in! This young Wraith could be very important for our research" Beckett repiled, "What research?" John asked.

"We're working on a retro-virus taht would alter Wraith DNA, essentially stripping out the bug elements of the genertic code and leaving only the human aspects behind" Beckett repiled.

"A drug that turns Wraith into humans?" John asked, "Effectively, yes! But so far we haven't had much success, partly becuase we lacked the living tissue and blood samples we need to test it" Beckett repiled.

"You think this..girl would be willing to provide them?" Weir asked.

"Look, I realize we can't bring her back to Atlantis, but I could take the retro-virus and equipment nescessary for the analysis with me to the planet. A few days with a coopative test subject could be worth months of tehoretical research. Elizabeth, I don't have to tell you how important this could be for us" Beckett repiled.

"Is she dangerous?" Weir asked, "She's a Wraith! Although..I have to admit...she does seem a little different" John repiled. After Beckett and John left, I went back to my room. I thought about this Wraith girl, she was part human but part Wraith.

Just like me and Teyla but me and Teyla looked like humans, I wondered what it would be like to grow up knowing that I had Wraith DNA in me. I didn't know until last year, Beckett found out when Teyla was having nightmares about Wraith and we found out she had Wraith DNA in her too. I fell asleep then got a radio call from Lorne saying that John and his team were back but I need to come to the Infirmary asap.

I walked into the Infirmary to hear John say, "I'm sure it will" John said looking at McKay, "This doesn't sting?" Beckett asked.

"No" John repiled, "I know you have a high threshold for pain, but this.." Beckett said, "This is what?" I asked, "Gone" Beckett repiled.

"What?" John asked, "The feeding mark. It's completely healed" Beckett repiled, "Maybe the wound wasn't that bad" John said.

"Then where'd all the blood come from?" Beckett asked, "I don't know, maybe it just looked a lot worse than it was" John repiled.

I don't see evidence of any cut at all" Beckett said, "That's weird, because it hurt like hell" John said, "You're sure the skin was broken?" Beckett asked.

"I'm pretty sure. There was a lot of blood! Maybe it was hers?" John asked, "It was definitely human" Beckett repiled.

"I don't know. Maybe it was a nosebleed" John said, "Is that supposed to be a joke, Colonel?" Beckett asked.

"Believe me, this isn't funny" John repiled, "Give me half a day to run your bloodwork and analyze it with the data we already here. We'll figure it out" Beckett said, "And until then?" John asked,"You're welcome to look over my shoulder" Beckett repiled.

"That's tempting, but..."John said smirking, "Just go about your day" Beckett said. John and Ronon went to go running, while I left to go get the whole story about what happened with this Wraith girl. It turns out that the Wraith girl took the reto-virus and started turning to a bigger and badder Wraith. John of course went after her and she jumped on him and attacked him, I didn't know what to say half to time when McKay was telling me about it.

Me and John were sparring because Teyla was tired and didn't really want to, while we sparring suddenly he pushed me against the wall, he kissed me but it wasn't like the other kisses we had shared this was weird, not John at all.

Beckett radioed John and told him he had news for us, We walked down to the Infirmary.

"The good news is, we can now say with some certainty that Ellia didn't drain away any of your life" Beckett said, "We already knew that" John said, "I suppose" Beckett said, "That's the best good news you could come up with?" John asked.

"It looks like you've been infected with the iratus bug retrovirus. The one we were working on to turn Ellia into a human" Beckett repiled, "You mean the one that didn't turn her into a human" I said, "Ellia administered the treatment prematurely. It wasn't even supposed to be.." Beckett said, "I'm not blaming you, Doc" John said interrupting him.

"But you're right. Then transformation was into a creature closer to the itatus bug thean to a human, and I know how much you.." Becektt said, "hate those bugs?" John asked, "Yes" Beckett repiled.

"But, for one...Ellia was a Wraith. And she tooka massive dose of the retrovirus. I mean, do we know how the Colonel's system might respond to the drug?" Weir asked, "I have no idea. It was never engineered to be given to a human. It was never intended" Beckett said, "Doc" John said, "To be given to anyone!" Beckett finished.

"Let it go" John half-whispered, "The problem is, I have no idea how your body will react! I can't even begin to guess" Beckett said.

"Well, if how I feel is any idication? I'm fine" John said, "It's certainly possible that it's already breakin' down in your system. Ellia transofrmation was extreme, and immediate" Beckett said, "See?" John said looking at Weir then me and he didn't take his eyes off me for at least 5 minutes.

"But then again, the wound on your arm healed unnaturally fast!" Beckett said, "If there was a wound" John said.

"There had to be! Otherwise, I don't see how you got infected in the first place!" Beckett said, "She was spitting an awful lot!" John said.

"So what, we just monitor it for now?" Weir asked, "Aye. You'll need to check in every six hours" Beckett repiled.

"I can do that" John said, 'And you should probably" Weir said, "Suspend my off-world activiaites until we know more?" John said.

"Thank you" Weir repiled, "See ya in six hours!" John said. I looked at Beckett and mouth that I would watch him and ran after John to keep up with him. We went to go get lunch then we went to our room, John sat down and looked down at his arm, I went and sat down next to him and saw what he was looking at.

It was a pale, scaly patch of skin surrounded by the same bruise coloration, John prods at it hesitantly and then radioed Beckett.

"Hey, Doc? This is Sheppard" he said, "Yes, Colonel?" Beckett repiled, "We may have to bump up our first check-in" John said.

Me and Weir were standing by Beckett far from John, "The retrovirus isn't breaking down in his system like we hoped it would" Beckett said very softly, "You're postive?" I asked, "Yes. In fact, it's beginning to alter his DNA. If this is allowed to continue, he'll deolve into a creature simliar to what Ellia became" Beckett repiled.

"How long do we have?" Weir asked, "I'm not sure exactly" Weir repiled, "Ballpark! Months, weeks?" I asked, "Days. We have days" Beckett repiled.

"OK, what's the plan?" Weir asked, "I've injected him witha viral inhibitor. It should slow down the retrovirus as far as his cognitive abilites are concerned, but I'm afraid that's it so far. We're exploring various treatments that may or may not be effective, soo" Beckett said.

"No, Carson, we don't have any time to explore. C'mon, there's got to be something in the Ancient database that can help you find a treatment!" I said, "I know, Alex. We're doing' our best!" Beckett replied.

"I'm sorry, I know . Of course you are" I said, "You should talk to him. He's hiding it very well, but if I was him? I'd b e scared to death" Beckett said.

"How'm I doing?", didn't say anythin, John looked me up and down, then frown, "Anything that has you speechless has me concerned" John said.

"You're gonna be fine" I said, "Wow, that's dead man talk " John repiled, "No, it isn't" I said, John turned up his right arm, showing the scaly patch has grown a but and changed to an ickily shiny, carbuncle- looking thing.

"How you seen this?" John asked, "Beckett is gonna figure this one out" I replied, "I think I already have. You know who I'm starting to feel like? Ford" John said.

"Now, what happened to you is completely different" I said, "I know, I know. Still, I can fell it. I mean, I can feel it changing me inside...like he did" John said.

"I don't think that's even possible, Look, you're very worried" I said, "No, no. No, it's...uh...one of the best weeks of my life was when I got my wisdom teeth out. I was on condiene for a full seven days. This is kinda the same. I know I should be in pain, or at the very least freaked out by this, but Hey! I'm not..and that freaks me out more than anything" John said.

"We're gonna bet this" John, "We're gonna beat this? Beckett'll figure this out? You're gonna be fine? you really suck at the whole bedside manner thing" John said.

"I know, I'm sorry" I said looking away, John pulled me closer and looked at me, "But I appreciate the effort" John said.

Beckett went to go figure out how to stop this as Weir went to go talk to Caldwell and I stayed with John until I went to go find Weir.

Me and Weir talked about what was going to happen with John, I told her I was scared out of mind for him and I couldn't lose him. I knew I couldn't live without him, John walked in and his neck was a lot bluer from when I left him in the Infirmary.

"Look! I made a new friend!" John said, I looked up as so did Weir, "It's only protocol" Weir repiled, "That's your answer for everything" John said, "You look well" I said.

I saw his hand and it looked claw-like and he put it in his pocket, "Should you be out of bed?" Weir asked, "I was goin' a little crazy down there, so they said I could walk around for a bit" John repiled, "That's good" I said softly.

"Look, what I'm trying to say is that I want to go on this mission" John said, 'Hey, you said it yourself. You are not ift for any offworld activity" Weir said.

"The inhibitor that Beckett's got me on, the one that's keeping me lucid? They keep having to up the dose" John said, "I know, they told me" Weir said.

"I don't know how much time I have, but the last thing I wanna do is sit on my...mutating hands, while my team puts their lives on the line trying to find me a cure. I should be with them!" John said.

"No, I'm sorry" Weir repiled, "What's the worst that can happen? I, I..die?" John asked, "You could compromise the mission. They have enough things to worry about.." Weir said.

"Oh, no no...so, what? Suddenly I'm a liability?" John asked, "Your condition can change repidly" Weir repiled.

" I know, and I know I can do this!" John said rasing his voice, "I'm gald..you feel that way. But it would be irresponsible of me" Weir said, "This is my life we're talking about" John said.

"I know that" Weir repiled, "I'm going on that mission" John said, 'No, John! You're not" Weir said, "Damnit!" John yelled.

His face twisted in rage as he turned and smashed his evil fist through the plate glass wall, the Marine pointed his stunner at John and people came into the office, "It's OK! Put it down" I said, "I'm betting that didn't sell you?" John asked.

"No, no, not really" Weir said, "I should go back to the infirmary" John said, "Yes" Weir repiled.

About an hour after John's team left on their mission to save him, I went to our room, an armed guard was standing in front of our door.

"John?" I asked as I walked through, I went to go turn on the lights, "Leave 'em off" John repiled, "What?" I asked, "The lights. Leave the lights off" John said in a harsh voice.

"OK. I thought I should come by and pratice my bedside manner. How are you?" I asked, I moved forward, "My body's mutating into a bug. How are you?" John repiled, "Would you like an update on your team's progress? They found an iratus cave and they've headed in" I said.

"Good" John said softly, "They should locate some eggs and be back here in no time" I said, "No time?" John asked, "Yes" I repiled, "Then what?" John asked, "Honestly? I don't know. Hey? Are you all right? Would you like me to call someone?" I asked, "Who would you call?" John asked.

"If you need to see a doctor" I said, "I need a bigger security detail" John said, "Excuse me?" I asked, I walked within touching distance. "At least two men, stationed at my door, sooner rather than later" John said, "NOw, what are you talking about?" I asked.

"Just turst me, Alex. You're going to need it" John repiled, "Listen, John...if..., he turned sharply and I saw his righ eye has gone all slit-pupiled and yellow-gold. "Oh my god" I finished.

"They need to hurry" John said, "You should be in the infirmary" I said, "The infirmary isn't secure. The inhibitor's only keeping me lucid, it's not slowing the retrovirus" John repiled.

"Still" I said, "DON'T ARUGE WITH ME! I'm not safe to be around anymore. Tell Weir, to get some more men at my door and get the hell out of here" John yelled.

I looked at him one last time before leaving, I turned to the guard, "Radio Doctor Weir and tell her to double the detail" I said. I went into the gym, I saw the punching bag up and started punching it, I couldn't help but think this was all my fault.

I was in the gym by myself for at least 2 hours, before Lorne came and found me. "Alex you ok?" he asked, "Yeah, I'm fine. I need to go see John" I said walking out of the gym to go see John.

I came up to his room and saw the Guard, "I wouldn't go in there, Ma'am" the Guard said, "I'll be fine. John? So this is when I usaually ask you a stupid question, like 'how are you felling?' John? John? Our team got back from the mission" I said.

There was a thump behind me, I turn to see John standing right there, I gasped at the sight of him, the blue/gray ridging has now travelled up into both of his cheeks, ears and has wrapped around his forehead, both of his eyes have now got slit pupils.

"The nest wat to well proteceted. We were unable to retieve the eggs. They tried their best" I finished talking, "Best?" John, "The bugs attacked" I said, "Try again" John said.

"Can't do that" I said, "Why?" John asked, "John" I repiled, "No" he said, "I understand" I said, "If you won't, if you love me, then kill me now" John said.

"John, I couldn't and wouldn't. I would never do anything to risk your life or take your life away" I said with tears in my eyes, "It's better for the both of us" John repiled, "I can't do that" I said.

"Then try again" John said, I stared at him, I shake my head and John suddenly surges forward, grabs me by my throat with his right hand, pushing me backward and pinning me against the wall.

"We lost Walker and Stevens. We can't risk more lifes!", John releases me, I fall to the floor, he walks away and approaches the door, it opens and he runs out, "This is Wilson. We have a security breah! Colonel Sheppard's quarters!" I radio the control room.

They chased John all around the city before they finally got him, Ronon of course got him. He was in the Infirmary, "I put him in a medically-induced coma for now. I was afraid he might break through the restraints" Beckett said.

"That's a good call, Doctor" Caldwell said, "So what now?" I asked, "The retrovirus has wreaked havoc on hi system and it's taking over" Beckett repiled.

"What does that mean?" I asked, "It means if we dont' find a way to stop the tretrovirus in the next twenty-four hours, what's life of the John Sheppard we know will be gone" Beckett repiled.

I went to the gym after spending a couple of hours with John, and of course Lorne was the one to find me. I ran up to him, hugged him and started crying into him. I couldn't stop crying, I didn't want to lose John, I only had 24 hours and Beckett needed to figure this out soon. I knew that there was chance I could lose him forever, I didn't want to think about it, but it was the only thing that was on my mind.

Beckett radioed me and Lorne followed, "I'm sorry, it just came to me. The fact that his mutaion has prgoressed as far as it has may be his salvation" Beckett said, "Explain that" Weir said.

"His sweat glands are actually producing trace amounts of their sigunature pheromone" Beckett said, "And?" I asked.

"When we were in the cave, those bugs knew we didn't belong there, so they didn't really fancy us getting close to their nest" Beckett repiled.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa. I see where you're going with this. If we can artificailly create the pheremone, it might be able to confuse them enough to leave us alone" McKay said.

"Aye, that would work" Beckett said, "Well, that's an excellent plan, Carson!" McKay said, "Aye, I wish it was" Beckett repiled.

"You can't do that in time" I said, "No, it'd take days" Beckett said, "But you said Sheppard only has twenty-four hours befroe the damage the retrovirus was causing him would be irreparable" Weir said.

"Exactly" Beckett said, "Well, then, that's a terrible plan, Carson!" McKay said, "There's only one person on this base that wouldn't need the artificial pheromone" Beckett said, "Sheppard?" Weir asked, "He could walk right in that cave and the bugs wouldn't pay him any mind" Beckett repiled.

"I'm not sure if you've noticed or not, but Colonel Sheppard's not feeling very well" McKay said, "He stopped taking the inhibitor we were administering. It was able to keep him luicd" Beckett said.

"I thought it effectivness has worn off" I said, "True, but I believe if we give him another massive dose, he mayb be clear-headed enough to complete the mission before we lose him completely" Beckett repiled.

"Yeah, but won't giving him that much inbitior, like.." McKay said, "Kill him? Yes, it's a definite possibilty. Even if I know it was for certain, I'd be tempted to offer him one last hour of lucidity" Beckett said.

"Do it. Gear up, take him as far as the cave" Weir said, "I'm going" I said, "No, Alex. You know that John would kill us if we let you get into any harm" Ronon said.

"John? John. Hey. You're in the Infirmary" I said, "Sorry about the headache. It's a side effect of the inhibitor" Beckett said.

"Did I hurt anyone?" Joh asked looking at me, "No, not seriously" I repiled, "Did Ronon shoot me?" John asked, "You had it coming! Look, we don't have a lot of time. This dose of the inhibitor drug will only last about an hour. How would you like to go on a mission?" I asked. I sat there, just waiting all night, I didn't want to think that I would lose the John Sheppard I had fell in love with. The one who always was there for me no matter what, I couldn't lose that John. About 2 hours after they left, the team got back and Beckett got John cured.

"It's not gonna happen overnight, you can bet on that. BUt the transformation has begun to reverse itself" Beckett said, "So eventually he'll be back in uniform?" Caldwell asked.

"Eventually" Beckett repiled, "Well done, Carson, for once again elevating medicine to actual science" McKay said.

"Well, thank you, Rodney!" Beckett siad, "We'll all finally be able to get some sleep. Keep me posted" Weir said.

"We might, uh.." Ronon said, "stay a while" Teyla finished for him, Well, if that's alright" McKay said, "Of course" Beckett said smiling at me. About 3 weeks after Beckett cured John, I was in the gym working out and he walked in and smiled at me.

"John! Should you be up and about?" I asked, "Well, I've been cooped up in that damned Infirmary for a couple of weeks. Give me a break" John said, "You are looking well. Are you feeling mroe like yourself?" I asked.

"Well, according to my DNA, I'm a hundred percent John Sheppard again...although, I gotta say, I'm looking forward to getting rid of this thing one day. Doc says it'll clear up eventually. Ah, so listen. While I've been laying there the past few weeks, I've been remembering things. Some things I might have done that you could call out of character" John said.

I knew what he was talking about but I deliberately misunderstood him, "You mean when you attacked the security detail" I said.

"Yeah, that was one of them" John said, "Yes" I said simling, "There's another thing I should probably apologise for" John said.

"Give it no more thought" I siad, "Good! I won't" John said, "Nice to have you back...John. I love you" I said stepping on my tip toes to kiss him. He kissed me back and it was the John I knew and loved, we went to our room and had mind-blowing sex! We woke up next morning, and smiled at each other, I knew he was back and I was so happy about that. I laughed as he overed over and fell out of the bed, I smiled and started laughing again. I remembered what I asked Beckett when I saw John laying there in the bed, "What the hell happend?" I yelled. I was so arugy, I thought it was Ronon's fault at first, telling him that he should have never let John go off by himself but now I know it wasn't anyones fault. But I was happy to have the man I loved back and that was alright with me.


	6. Chapter 7 We Could Have Had A New Ship

Chapter 7 We could have had a new ship

About 2 weeks after what had happened with John, we were in the mess hall eatting when Lorne sat down next to me and smiled. I felt John's eyes on me as if I did something while he might have died, I looked up at him and leaned over the table to kiss him. I knew everything was going to be ok, John knew I loved him and only him. Lorne was one of my best friends on Atlantis, before he was in the air force we had gone to school together. We were really close, one night after Tom tried to get one of his friends to hurt me. Lorne came over to make sure I was ok, I kissed him and after that things just weren't the same.

I dropped out of college about 3 weeks later, and Lorne. I didn't know what he was going to do or even if he was still in college, I hadn't know he dropped out of college until he showed up in Atlantis after we got back from Earth. He said he didn't even know I was working here or that I would even be allowed to work on Atlantis. He figured that if I wanted a job, here that they would look around in my backaround and find out about the time I got into trouble because I hacked into the schools system.

I laughed as I looked at John's face when he heard that I hacked into the schools system and changed the lunch menu, "What?" I asked.

"You hacked into ur schools comptuer system to change the menu?" John asked, "Yup, I didn't want to have green beas, I wanted peas" I said smiling. I was still when I saw Ronon walk in. We waved him over to us soon after that, McKay and Teyla had joined us too, I listened to McKay wine about Zelenka thinks he knows everything. Teyla said that she didn't want to spar with Ronon anymore, Ronon saying that it wasn't his fault that the towel fell off the seat and made Teyla fall on her face.

I sat there staring at John as he told McKay to shut up, I wondered how someone like him could want anything to do with a girl like me. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't nostie it when me and John were the only ones left at the table. I smiled up at John as I grabbed his hand. We walked away and back to our room, I ran fast enough to get the shower first. I hated taking a shower after John. Mostly because he always lefted me little hot water, I heard John cussing as I jumped into the shower.

I laughed as I let the hot water run down my back, I smiled knowing that nothing could happen that could take away John from me. Even if things were very unknown in Atlantis because of the Wraith, even with the chance that the IOA might do something to ruin everything I have with John. John was there for me no matter what, he had told me that a million and a half times.

McKay had found a warship so Team Sheppard headed out to go check it out, I didn't need anything more problems with the fact that I was with John so I didn't go on the mission. I got word that my brother Jason had been put on the list to come out here the next time the Daedluas went to earth.

When John and his team got back, they debriefed and I found out that it didn't go according to plan and of course next another thing got in our way to get a new ship.


	7. Chapter 8 What Do you Mean Ford?

Chapter 8 What do you mean Ford?

"You're back early" Weir said as me and Lorne walked through the gate room, "Uh, Jenev is kind of a closed society. Very polite and very courteous but completely uninterested in having anything to do with us" Lorne said.

"Well, better that than hostile, I suppose. Colonel Sheppard's team, three hours overdue" Weir said, "Wouldn't be the first time. Any radio contact?" I asked.

"None since they left" Weir said, "Well you know those guys" Lorne said, "What do I know about those guys?" Weir asked.

"Just that they tend to get all caught up in whatever it is they're doing and sometimes they don't check in. They forget how much you worry. That we worry collectively, I mean" Lorne said trying to dig himself out.

"Yes, we do" Weir said, "Yeah. We do. Ok, you guys, it looks like we're headin' back out" Lorne said, "Thank you, Major" Weir said smiling.

"You're welcome" Lorne said, as we headed back to the planet to where John and his team were on. We did all the scans that we could do on the planet and didn't find anything.

"We just finished our scans, ma'am. They're not here" Lorne said through the radio to Weir, "Do you think they're headed to another planet?" Weir asked.

"It's possible, but you know, it's standard procedure to check in and tell us first. They didn't do that, so…" I replied, "They might have been taken off world against their will" Weir said.

"Yeah" Lorne said, "Alright. Can you give me the last few addresses dailled from the DHD?" Weir asked, "Maybe somebody can, but that's a little out of my skill set" Lorne said.

"Alex, get on it" Weir said, "Yes ma'am, Wilson out" I said, I was sitting there under the DHD trying and trying to find something we could use, I stood up and started speaking Russia.

"That good, huh?" Lorne asked, "These things are not designed to store Gate addresses" I replied, "what can you give us?" Lorne asked.

"Well, every time the gate is dialed, a slight residual imprint is left on the control crystals" I said, "Which means?" Lorne asked, "Well, I've managed to mine about fifty addresses, but, no idea if they're correct of what order they wre dialed in" I replied.

"Fifty? That's a lot of planets to check" Lorne said, 'yes, and that's assuming that they're correct" I said.

"Ok, so long story short?" Lorne asked, "It's going to be next to impossible to find Colonel Sheppard and his team based on what I can get from this DHD" I replied.

"Great. Ok, pack it up, let's take what you've got. We'll go over it on Atlantis. Weir's not gonna be happy about this" Lorne said as we dialed home.

Me, Lorne and Weir were in her office talking, "If they were ok, they would have radioed in by now" Weir said, "I that understand that, ma'am" Lorne said.

"I want everyone who is cleared for off world activity to help with the search. The Daedalus is on its way from Earth, then they'll be able to help, but until they get here, it's up to us" Weir said.

"And I know that, but I need you to understand that it is going to take a very long time to search all the planets on our list. It…it could take months" Lorne replied, "We can't afford months, Major" Weir said.

"And I know that too" Lorne said sighing, "good" Weir said, me and Lorne got up and walked up out of the office.

I was up in the control room when the gate was dialed, "Unscheduled activation! It's Doctor McKay's IDC" I said, "Lower the shield" Weir said as we both ran down the stairs.

"I know what I need to do!" McKay said, "Rodney, what's happened? Where are the rest of them?" I asked as the gate closed down.

"There's no time, no time. The planet, not Ford's, the one the, uh, ship's headed towards, we need to get there and we don't have much time. I was barely able to escape myself but I managed to take out the guards. Oh, you should have seen me! I was amazing! I wish we'd got it on camera because…that's not the point" McKay said.

"Rodney, slow down. Are you alright?" I asked, "Yes, yes. I mean, um….I don't know. I mean, I did take out the guards and they were huge and dumb and stupid and" McKay said.

"What guards?" Weir asked, "Ford's guards! Haven't I mentioned Ford?" McKay asked, "No, you didn't, and you haven't even mentioned Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon either" Weir said.

"Yes! They were there too, and there were the two guards. They were huge and massive and I had to take 'em out so I had to inject some of the enzyme" McKay said.

"You took some of the enzyme?" I asked, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I didn't take some of the enzyme. I took a lot of the enzyme, because I had to, because I had to take out the guards, which I did and you should have seen me, I was amazing!" McKay replied.

"Are you insane?" I asked, "yes, yes, now that I've taken the enzyme, yes" McKay said, "Rodney, focus. Where is Colonel Sheppard?" I asked.

"No, no, no I had to take the enzyme because, because I had to take out the guards! But that's not the point, the point is we don't have enough time. We need to stop the ship from getting to where the ship is going" McKay replied.

" Come on, come on, let's take a walk to the Infirmary, alright?" Weir asked, "Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, what are you doing, where are we going? No, no, no, I don't wanna go to the infirmary. I want to go to the, to the, uh, the, umm" McKay said.

As McKay fell to the floor, Weir told Beckett to tell them we were bring McKay to them. About an hour after that, I heard that Caldwell was on Atlantis, which meant that Jason was on here too. I asked Caldwell where Jason was before he headed to the Infirmary.

I found him setting up his room, after he turned around and smiled at me, I was happy that he was here, but at the same time I wasn't happy because what if something happened to him.

After talking for about 3 or 4 hours, I went up to the control room to see McKay there, "Well, look at you" Weir said. "Ah, yes. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as the idiom goes" McKay said.

"You gave us quite a scare" I said, "It was very strange. The whole time I was under the influence of the enzyme, it felt like I was, uh, I was perfectly lucid, eloquent, even. That it was you who wasn't making any sense or listening to reason. I was very peculiar. I think I kind of understand how Ford must have been feeling this whole time" Mckay said.

"Rodney? What happened out there? And where are the others?" Weir asked, "I don't know exactly, but I think I can figure it out. I told you Ford's alive" McKay replied.

"Well, you told me, but I didn't believe you" Weir said, "The man is nothing if not resilient. He's been busy, too. He gathered himself together a little gang, doped them all up on the enzyme. They're the ones that caught us, drugged us and coerced Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon to join them on a mission to destroy a hive ship" McKay said.

"A hive ship?" I asked, "Yeah, they managed to steal themselves a Dart. Like I said, he's been busy. Look, when they didn't return from the mission, I realized something has obviously gone wrong. Now, I have the coordinates to the planet that the hive ship was headed towards to cull" McKay said.

"So if the team is still alive, maybe captured on the ship, there's a chance we can rescue them" Weir said, "Yeah, at the very least we can warn the planet of the impending culling" McKay replied.

"I'll alert Colonel Caldwell" Weir said heading back to office, "Very good" McKay said.

Hours and hours went by before we heard anything from Lorne and Daedalus, "Copy that, Atlantis out." I said as I moved toward Weir's office, "Doctor Weir?" I asked.

"We received word from the Daedalus. They said they should be back to Atlantis by nineteen hundred hours" I said.

"They called the search off?" Weir asked, 'They said there was nothing to search for" I replied, "Thank you" Weir said. I walked into the control room again and then the gate started to dial, "Off world activation!" I said.

"Who is it?" Weir said, "WE have a IDC. It's Colonel Sheppard's code!" I replied, "Let 'em in" Weir said as we both ran down the stairs.

"Sorry we're late" John said, as they walked in, we went to in the Infirmary, "Alright, up you go" Beckett said, McKay and Caldwell walked.

"Why aren't you dead?" McKay asked John, "Ah, it's good to see you too, Rodney" John said, "No, no, I mean, well you know what I mean. Why aren't you dead?" McKay asked.

"Well, I knew when the hives started to shot at each other, it was just a matter of time before the blew each other up, so I went to the space Gate, dialed an address where I could land safely. I didn't think the Dart could fit in our Gate room" John replied.

"The Colonel was kind of enough to make us whole again, and we returned home" Teyla said, "I'm curious, Sheppard, how did you know the Wraith would fight each other?" Caldwell asked.

"Uh, a little intel from Ford in the game, plus, uh, well I kinda goosed things along with the Queen" John said.

"It would appear the Wraith are becoming more territorial then we had thought. There is definite tension building among them" Teyla said, "Which is good for us" Ronon said.

"certainly is. It also opens brand new strategy in fighting them" Weir said, "Hmm! And, and where's Ford?" McKay asked.

"He was aboard the hive ship when it was destroyed" Teyla said, "He was last seen aboard the hive ship" John said, "what does that mean?" McKay asked, "Well you know ford. I would be surpised if we run into him again" John said.

We left the infirmary to go to our room, I turned to John half way there, "Did I tell you that Jason is on Atlantis now?" I asked, "Umm… No" he replied, "Yeah, I guess he wanted to come, I talked to him today" I said.

"That's great, so are you guys good now?" he asked, "Yeah, we are good" I said smiling as we reached our door and John grabbed me and turned me around to kiss me hard. I was happy to have the man I loved back in my arms.

I didn't think I would ever want to leave his arms again but I knew that he had to get up the next morning and do whatever it is that he did when he didn't have a mission. I smiled as we both fell asleep.

The next morning we headed to go get something to eat, when I saw Jason looking for a place to eat, I waved him over to our table. "Jason, this is Lietudent Colonel John Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon and Doctor Rodney McKay" I said, "Nice to meet you guys" Jason said sitting down next to me.


	8. Chapter 9 I'm Going To Kill You McKay!

Chapter 9 I'm going to kill you McKay!

A couple weeks after that, John and his team had a mission but so did i. Weir wanted me and Lorne to take Jason on our mission. We had been gone all day, we were on a planet that me and Lorne had been to once or twice before.

"Hello, Major Lorne, Doctor Wilson, so nice for you to visit again" Stephen said as we walked, "its nice to be back again, Stephen, how are you?" I asked smiling, "Good and who is this?" He asked turning to Jason.

"This is Major Jason Wilson" I replied, "Wilson?" Stephen asked, "Yes, he's my brother" I replied. We were on the planet for almost the whole day but when I got back, I heard that McKay was back but no-one else from the team was so I went to go find him talking Weir and Beckett in a room.

"What, you have no idea whether he's injured?" Beckett asked, "The excruciating pain he was experiencing was a result of the temporal differential" McKay replied.

"And what is that, exactly?" Beckett asked, "Ok, the-the- the portal must somehow dampen the extreme tidal forces that would normally occur in the event horizon of a time dilation field, and we were keeping him from passing through it" McKay replied.

"What is going?" I asked, after McKay told me what was going on, he started talking to Beckett again. "So part of his body is experiencing time at a different pace than the other? Who knows what that could do to him?" Beckett asked.

"I have no idea but I suspect he could use a doctor" McKay replied sarcastically, "so don't you know if he's even alive?" Weir asked, "The most time-efficient approach was to assume that he was alive but stranded" McKay replied.

"And why not assume that he'll make his own way back through the portal?" I asked, "Because Colonel Sheppard would have already had hours to try to make it back through the portal in the time I wasted explaining the situation to Conan and Xena!" McKay replied.

"Now, Rodney, that's not very" Beckett said, "No, No, I suppose it isn't. This is McKay. Supplies been loaded aboard yet?" He asked.

"Almost there, sir. Just a few more cases" was said, "Alright, when you're done with that, make sure you assist Zelenka in securing the descent probe into the lauch compartment" McKay said.

"We've loaded weeks of supplies and everything I could think of" McKay said, "What're we not thinking of?" Beckett asked.

"Now take a minute, and be certain. If your theory is correct, you won't be able to make many of these trips" Weir said, "I am painfully aware of that" McKay said, "I remind you only because from what you've told me, rushing is what got Sheppard into trouble in the first place" I said.

"This was not his fault, it was mine. I should have looked more closely at the video. The clues were there before he even steeped through. Look, all I can hope to do now is fix this within his lifetime" McKay said.

"His lifetime?" I asked, "If it takes us a week to ten days to fix this, then it won't matter, because he will probably have died of old age" McKay replied, "Oh my god" Weir said.

"Yeah, hence the rushing, now you ready? You don't look ready" McKay said, "I'm ready" Beckett said, "I need to pick up a few of my books to help with the translation" I said.

"Well we'll pick 'em up on the way and I hope you've got us a real Jumper pilot because I don't trust him, and I can't fly the damned thing in a straight line" McKay said. "I'm going to kill you McKay!" I said for getting John into the mess.

We did everything we could form up in space and we figured out that we couldn't get John from flying into the field so we had to go through it. "You sure it was three seconds?" McKay asked.

"Yes," Teyla said, "And there's twelve minutes of video" McKay said, "yes" Teyla said again.

"Alright so it's a ratio of about, uh" McKay said, "Two hundred and fifty to one. I sent my watch through, along with a letter to Colonel Sheppard telling we are doing our best to rescue him. If you would like to check again, then" Teyla said.

"No, that's good, that's good, that's good, uh, good thinking" McKay said, "Just out of curiosity, what does that mean for Colonel Sheppard in terms of, uh, days?" Beckett asked.

"We're already talking months" McKay replied, "OK, I think I've got it. I am interpreting a bit, but it seems the field was designed as a sanctuary from the Wraith, but a place the last of the Ancients could travel to and hopefully ascend without fear of attack" I said.

"Oh, of course. They could potentially spend entire lifetimes inside the field before the Wraith even discovered the place" McKay said, "And if they ever attacked, their ships would get torn apart just as the probe did" Beckett said.

"And so it has remained for ten thousand years" Teyla said, "This writing here, this serves as a sort of welcome, as well as a warning for any of the humans under their protection looking for sanctuary; but I think it was left there for anyone who wanted to seek the path of ascension of their own" I said.

"And what's the warning?" Ronon asked, "That once you cross the threshold, there's no return" I replied.

"That is, unless you have the exact location of the power source and the expertise to turn it off. Hey, we may even get a ZedPM out of this" McKay said.

"Now you're talking" Ronon said as we all went through the field and started walking, "You know, I was just thinking this entire field, I mean, not the field, I mean the field, field must generate its own day and night cycle, not to mention its own artificial climate. I mean, it's incredible! When you think" McKay said.

"You want to pick up the pace, McKay?" Ronon asked, "Hey, he's waited for months. Another half hour isn't gonna kill him" McKay replied, "Aye, and besides that, I have a date planned with Lieutenant Cadman for tomorrow night" Beckett said, 'Oh, no, so we've only got twelve years in here!" McKay said. As we kept walking, Teyla held her fist up telling us to stop. John came running out of the woods after the beast had taken out Teyla and Ronon at least twice each. McKay and Beckett tried shooting it with their guns but it didn't work.

John saw me after the villagers made the beast disappear, he came up to me and kissed me, I kissed back, forgetting about Ronon, McKay, Beckett and Teyla who were around us. "Umm… Want to stop that now?" McKay asked.

Me and John pulled away from each other and smiled, I didn't really like kissing him with the bread but it was nice to kiss him. I was happy to see that he was alright, physical at least. We walked and walked some more. We finally got to go home, Jason and me were eating dinner while John had to go to his report about the mission. We talked about things that I didn't think we wouldn't able to talk about now that we were both grown-up.

Even though he told why he didn't want to see me or talk to me when I came to visit at the beginning of the year, turns out he was mad about the fact that I just left without so much as a good-bye thanks for being such an amazing twin brother all my life. After I told him that I didn't know I was going to be gone for so long and that I did send that video, but he cut me off and said that's why he forgave me and decided to come out here too.

I went back to mine and John's room and fell asleep, it was nice to have the two most amazing men in my life in the same city with me. I didn't know what I would do without John or Jason around. I was so much in love with John and the thing that scared me was that it was the married and have kids love I felt. I didn't know what John's take on kids were and I wasn't about to ask him anytime soon either.


	9. Chapter 10 A Bomb

Chapter 10 a bomb

Me, McKay, John, Weir, and Ronon were in the control room, "Two Wraith cruisers" McKay said, "How far away are they?" Weir asked.

"A day, maybe a day and a half. I've been tracking them for some time now, but, uh, the good news is it doesn't look they're heading this way" I replied.

"Just passing through the neighborhood?" John asked, "Yeah, it looks that way. But I just discovered something rather curious. Short but intense energy burst passing between them" McKay said.

"They're fighting each other?" Ronon asked, "Hmm. In my, uh, expert opinion, yes" McKay replied, "That's good news" John said, "Certainly yes. If there's any change in course at all, let me know" Weir said.

Me, McKay and John were walking through the halls, "Elizabeth's including intel about the in-fighting amongst the Wraith in today's status report" McKay said, 'Let's hope that rend continues. If the Wraith keep fighting like this, might be able to take the weekend off" John said.

"Cadman? What are you doing here?" McKay asked, "Well, it's good to see you too, Rodney" Cadman replied, "No, I thought you were leaving on the Daedalus" McKay said, "Yeah, I was, but something came up. I asked Colonel Sheppard if I could stay around a little while longer" Cadman said.

"Oh, well, that's fine" McKay said, "You Ok with that?" Cadman asked, "Yeah, course it is, why it wouldn't be?" McKay asked.

"Colonel, Doctor" Cadman said, "Lieutenant" John said, "Cadman" I said as we walked past her, "I would think after all this time, you'd stop being creeped out by her" John said.

"She just has a way of getting under my skin. Literally" McKay replied. We went to the control room to get ready for the status report,

"Are we set to dial?" Weir asked, "Almost. Just finishing data compression" McKay said, "stand by" Weir said, "Standing by" I said.

"Data compression's complete. We're good to go" McKay said, "Alright, then. Dial the gate" Weir said.

"Yes, ma'am" I said, I started dialing the gate and then all of the sudden McKay yelled something at me but then I realized it was this.

"STOP!" McKay yelled, "We need to disconnect the ZPM and switch to back-up naqahdah generators to prevent any possible dialing of the Gate to Earth" I said.

"I agree. In fact, as of this moment, all gate activity should be suspended. How many off world teams do we have out there?" Weir asked, "Just Zelenka and his team on M7G-677" I replied.

"Well, unfortunately he's gonna have to sit tight until we sort this thing out" Weir said, "Stuck with all those kids!" John said.

"Is the Daedalus still in range to relay a data transmission back to SGC?" Weir asked, "Yes, they are, uh, holding a position that keeps them in range of both Earth and us" McKay replied.

"Ok, good. And seen a message saying we received their warning and aborted the dialing" Weir said.

"Ask them if they can give us a little more than just There's a bomb in Atlantis" John said, "Maybe The Trust thinks this is the only way to make sure the Wraith don't get there" Weir said.

"Well, it's drastic but effective" I said, "What's the worse is the Trust operative who planted the bomb probably did so under orders from the Goa'uld" Weir said, "What?" McKay asked.

"When did the Goa'uld get involved in this?" John asked, "Several months ago. They successfully infiltrated the upper leadership of The Trust, gaining a stronghold on Earth accessing government agencies from many countries" Weir said.

"What's a Goa'uld?" Ronon asked, "It's a slimy, snake-like alien creature, burrows into people's heads and takes control of their bodies" I replied.

"That doesn't sound pleasant" Ronon said, "It isn't. I've read enough SG mission reports to know I don't want anything to do with them" John said, "I want you to organize some teams to do a search of the city. Start with the obvious sabotage points, power distribution centres" Weir said.

"I'll check primary and secondary systems for any anomalous energy readings that might indicate the presence of an explosive device" McKay said.

"And get Cadman to assist you, she's a bomb expert" John said, "She is?" McKay asked, "She's one of the best, she'll be a big help" John replied.

"Good. Ask Colonel Caldwell to return to Atlantis to assist with the investigation" Weir said, "Who-whoa-whoa, if the Daedalus returns here, then you're effectively cutting off our communication with Earth" I said.

"Yes, I understand that, but if the person who planted the bomb is on board, we're gonna need to question them here, have them reveal the location of the bomb and how to dismantle it. Alright, let's get moving" Weir replied.

I was with John to help search for the bomb, "Colonel Sheppard, how's it going?" Weir asked, "Checking the east pier power distribution centres. Still nothing. We're headed to the west pier now" John replied, "Ronon? How about you?" Weir asked.

"Checking the grounding stations. Also nothing" Ronon replied, "We've got eight other teams out there. It's a big city, it's gonna take a while" I said.

"Understood. Be advised: We got a second message relayed to us" Weir said. It's dialing itself" McKay said.

"I thought it couldn't dial Earth without the ZeePM" Weir said, "Well, it can't!" McKay said.

"Did I just hear right, the gate dialed by itself?" John asked, "Uh, yes, it tried to dial Earth" Weir replied, "Whoever planted the bomb must have devised a programme to upload itself and automatically dial the gate as backup in case the first dialing was halted" I said.

"A very good thing McKay pulled the ZeePM" Weir said, "Rodney?" Cadman said, "What?" McKay asked, "The transmitter" Cadman said.

"Oh, no!" McKay said, "What is this?" Weir asked, "We just started broadcasting a distress beacon. The gate dialed itself in order to draw our attention away from the transmitter!" McKay said.

"Turn it off!" John said, "I am. It's too late. The damage is already done. The two Wraith cruisers I was monitoring, they've-they've-they've-they've picked up the beacon, they've altered their course, they're headed straight for Atlantis" McKay said.

Me and John met Weir and McKay up in the control room, "How long before they get here?" Weir asked, "A day, maybe a day and a half, depending on if they need to make a hyperspace pause along the way. We'll need to cloak to city" McKay replied.

"Uh, even cloaked, the Wraith are gonna wonder where the beacon came from" Weir said, "We need a ruse. Umm… we'll take a transmitter and dump it along with some charred rubble on a beach on the mainland, and they'll think it jetsam that washed up when the city exploded during the siege" McKay said.

"Hang on, back up a second. Let me get this straight. You think our bomb guy did this?" John asked,, "Yes. It'd be easy for him to figure out that the Wraith were in the area. We've been tracking them for a while now" McKay replied.

"So he gets the gate to dial by itself in order to distract us so he can broadcast a distress beacon that'll be picked up by" John said.

"By the Wraith, yes, I believe so" McKay said, "Ok, why?" John asked, "Well, maybe he wants to blow up the Wraith along with the city" Cadman replied.

"Two cruisers. They're insignificant compared to all the hive ships that are still out there" McKay said, "Well, we don't have much time, so whatever the connection is, let's try to figure it out before the cruisers get here" Weir said.

I walked into Weir's office, "Passenger manifest?" I asked, "Yeah" Weir replied, "Any names jump out?" I asked, "A few actually. I hate this, having to suspect one of our own" Weir said.

"Unfortunately the list of suspects may not be limited to the Daedalus" I said, "You think the Trust operative might still be here in Atlantis?" Weir asked, John walked in to finish what I wanted to say.

"Well, with everything that's happened, the gate dialing by itself, the distress beacon" John said, "I don't know, getting themselves blown up along with the city doesn't seem part of their MO" Weir said.

"Well, all it takes is one not to be talked into it" John said, "Wow. Ok. Who around here do you suspect?" Weir asked, 'What about lieutenant Cadman, hmm?" McKay asked.

"What?" John asked, "Hear me out. She's an explosives expert. She was all set to leave on the Daedalus but uh, asked to stay when something came up. She's always around when things happen, when the distress beacon started" McKay replied.

"She's one of the most trusted officers in my command, not to mention the fact that she was stuck in your head for some time" John said, "Do you always have to keep bringing that up?" McKay asked.

"I bring it up because you of all people should know, she'd never do something like that" John said, "Well, maybe she was brainwashed, huh The Goa'uld are very clever when it comes to things like manipulating" McKay said.

"Excuse me. Doctor Weir" Cadman said, "Yes" Weir said, "Flight just confirmed that the Daedalus has landed alongside the east pier" Cadman said, "Thank you" Weir said.

Me and McKay were working out things when we found something, "What have you found?" Weir asked as she came into the control room, "Guess what? Turns out there's no bomb after all" John replied.

"There's no actual explosive device. The explosion will come, but, from somewhere else. Now, with the Wraith on the way, we'll need to cloak the city, right?" I said.

"Yes" Weir said, "Well, in order to do that; we need to reconnect the ZPM in order to supply the necessary power" McKay said.

"And what about the Stargate?" Weir asked, "Ah, I've physically disabled the DHD. It won't be able to dial, so it won't be a problem. Now the ZPM, however, will be. Now as you know, the Zero Point Module controls the flow of massive amounts of power" McKay said.

"Like a dam" John said, No, it's not like a dam, it's more like a…uh…actually yes, it's like a dam. If you overload the damn, it breaks, which is why the Ancients put in place fail safes to prevent such a thing from happening" McKay said.

"Like a spillway" John said, "Could we just stick with fail safes?" McKay asked, "The problem is, our trust operative figured out a way to rewrite Atlantis' operating system and disable the fail safes, but mask it in such a way that the city sensors didn't detect it" I said.

"So the dialing of Earth would cause the ZPM to overload" Weir said, "Oh yeah! And given that dialing another galaxy requires tremendous amounts of power, we're talking catastrophic overload. I mean, the explosion would destroy not just the city, but most likely the entire planet" McKay said.

"Can the fail safes be re-enabled?" John asked, "yes, but, whoever it was who did this anticipated the possibility that it would be discovered and they put in place a code to block access to it" I said.

"And I'm gonna guess that cracking this code isn't gonna be easy" Cadman said, "NO, not at all. It is extremely complicated" McKay said.

"But for now you've already disabled the DHD so it's impossible to dial Earth" Weir said, "yeah, but unfortunately, any number of systems can be used in conjunction with each other, to overload the ZPM. It'd be a much more gradual build-up than dialing the gate, which would cause an instantaneous power spike, but equally as effective in its results" I said.

"And we can't disconnect the ZPM because we need the clack for when the Wraith cruisers arrive" Weir said, "Bingo! This is why our bomber activated the distress beacon, alerting them. And that is how the Wraith coming to Atlantis is connected to detonationg the bomb" McKay said.

A little while after that things started to go from bad to worse but we figured out that the Caldwell who was the Trust operative and we got the code and saved the city once again and the Wraith went bye-bye again.

Me and John walked into Weir's office, "Did you see Zelenka?" John asked, "No" Weir replied, "You should take a quick look before he washes his face. The kids did a real number on him!" John said.

"I asked Doctor Beckett to give everyone on the base a full examination. If Colonel Caldwell could have a Goa'uld in him, any of us could" Weir said.

"It's not a pleasant thought" I said, "No, no it's not. I crossed a line, John, with Kavanagh" Weir said, "You did what you had to do. The good news was, he wasn't hurt" John said.

"Here we are, gloating about the in-fighting among the Wraith. How are we any different?" Weir asked.

I and John were unable to answer her question but I couldn't help but think that we were better than the Wraith, we were out here making things better for the people but the Wraith were killing them, eating them so to speak. I and John headed back to our room after tonight, we didn't feel up to anything at all but sleeping, it was a long day and night for both of us. It was stressful but the good thing was that everything was okay and no one was hurt.


	10. Chapter 11 I'm Kinda Gald I Wasn't There

Chapter 11 I'm kind of glad I wasn't here

A week after the bomb insistent, me, Lorne and our team headed out to check up on a planet we were helping after they were culled a couple of months ago. I made some friends in on the planet so I was kind of excited to go back there.

"How are you?" I asked when we arrived at the planet with Doctor Cole, "We are good, thank you for coming" Doman replied. It was very unlike Doman to be nice to me; he was what we called sexist on Earth. He never really liked me, mostly talked to Lorne, Brown and Collin for the most part every time we came here.

I was thinking too much, maybe he turned over a new leaf in his life, ha doubt that. I laughed out loud; "sorry didn't mean to laugh" I said as I realized that Lorne was trying to talk to Doman about his daughter who I guess was very sick by the way Doman looked at me with that sicken face he always gave me.

Lorne pulled me aside to talk to me, "What is wrong with you?" he asked, "Sorry, I was thinking something funny" I replied, "Alex, his daughter is very ill, doesn't know what is wrong with her. Can you at least act like you care?" Lorne asked, "I told you, I'm sorry. Look, I'll go talk to Doman and tell him that I didn't mean to laugh and that I wasn't laughing at his daughter or how sick she is" I replied smiling at the Major. Hopefully, he didn't tell John about this, not that John would have anything to say about it.

Well maybe he would mostly because Doman's people gave us a lot of their harvest, when we first meet them; our first year in Atlantis. I walked over to Doman and smiled at him, "I'm sorry Doman, I didn't mean to laugh and I wasn't laughing about your daughter, I'm very sorry to hear that she is ill" I said hoping that he would accept my sorry and forgive me.

"It is alright, Doctor Wilson, I understand that you were most likely thinking about something else, am I right?" he asked, "Yes, thanks for understanding Doman and Doctor Cole is a really good Doctor and I'm sure she can help your daughter" I replied.

Things were better after I talked to Doman, I was walking around the town when Brown came up to me, "What's up?" he asked, "umm. You know what I figured out that we don't talk that much" I replied, "Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. Usually I just let you and Major Lorne do the talking on the missions we go but I figure that I might as well as make friends with you" Brown said.

"Cool, well how are you?" I asked, even though I already knew that answer, word around Atlantis was that he heard from his sister last month and turns out that his mother was in the hospital and wasn't doing to good. She was very ill and could die within the next two months.

"Well, I'm 3,000 light years away from my family and my mother is in the hospital and might not live until I can get R&R time to go back and see her" Brown replied, "I'm sorry to hear that, Jake but I'm sure she will pull through" I said.

After talking to Brown and getting to know him a little bit better, I was once again walking through the town, talking to old friends that I had made the first time we came here, it was nice to see how these people took so kindly to us and didn't expect too much in return. I was almost sad to see the way the people looked at me with envy that I have never be too badly burned by the Wraith. Sure I had my run-ins with the Wraith but not as badly as these people or the other million people out here in this galaxy.

But what made me feel better was the fact that I knew I was fighting for these people to stop the Wraith and help bring peace to the galaxy, the Ancients never knew how bad it would get if they really did awaken the Wraith. John still felt like it was all his fault that the planets were being culled so much because he was trying to save his people but I kept telling him that it was worth it to bring the people he saved back to Atlantis and gave us a fighting chance against the Wraith.

We headed back to Gate after finding out that Doman's daughter was gonna live, I smiled at him and told him that I just knew she would be alright and that me and Doctor Cole would be back in a couple weeks to check up on her. We dialed Atlantis and stepped through the Stargate.

I went to find John and heard from Chuck that he was in the Infirmary, figuring that he got himself hurt again, I headed down to make sure he was alright. He filled me about how Rodney and the pilot he was with were stuck in the Jumper underwater and after the pilot saved Rodney's life, ended up dying and that he was done there and almost died too. I checked up on McKay to make sure he knew there was no way he could have known this was going to happen. He said he was alright so I and John headed to the mess hall to grab something to eat before heading to bed.

I'm kind of glad I wasn't here for all that. John told me how he thought he almost lost McKay there for a couple of minutes, I knew how good of a friend McKay was to John no matter how many time McKay annoyed or pissed John off.


	11. Chapter 12 Wow, I'm Gonna Punch Her

Chapter 12 Wow, I might have to punch her

Couple weeks after that, John had a mission to trade with some planet and I was working in my lab when Weir radioed me saying that she wanted me up in the control room. I ran up to the control room and saw that the gate was open and John was talking to her about something.

"And you say the Tower looks a lot like Lantean architecture?" Weir asked, "It was overgrown by vegetation but otherwise there was definitely something familiar about it" John replied, 'So the people in the Tower could be Ancients" Weir said, "I don't know. A feudal society doesn't fit the profile. Why would the Ancients wanna lord over a bunch of simple farmers?" John asked.

"I don't know. Either way, we should talk with them" Weir replied, "Agreed. I would like Alex to come here and help if that is possible" John said.

"I'm all geared up and ready to come, John. I'll be there soon" I said, "See you at the gate" John replied. I met John at the gate and walked back to the village with him as he filled me in on what was going on.

"Who are these guys?" John asked as we walked up and saw a man standing in the village centre, cowering before four men in military uniforms. Unlike the villagers, these men clearly come from a more advanced society.

"Soldiers from the Tower" Ronon replied, the leader of the soldiers violently backhands the man, knocking him to the ground. Me, John, Ronon and Teyla rushed towards them.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy" John said, "Who are you?" said the man as he turned to face us, "Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard. Who are you?" John asked.

"I am a constable of the Lord Protector's guard, and this village scum dared to defy me. It's clear we're going to have to make an example" Constable replied.

He took a whip from off his belt, unravels it and prepares to use it on the man, as like we all knew what to do, we drew our weapons and aimed them at the constable. The guards put their hands on their own weapons.

"I don't think so" John said, "Please, Colonel. It's my fault" said the man, "If you think I'm gonna sit here and let you whip an innocent man, you're sorely mistaken" John said.

"Constable. You may stand down. You are the strangers who requested an audiences, are you not?" said another man, "That's us" John said.

He walked towards us and holds up a small device toward Teyla scanning her, then moving on to Ronon, me and John.

"My name is Otho. I have the honor to be chamberlain to the Lord Protector. And you would never be allowed in his presence so armed" Otho said, "Well, I guess we'll have to be on our then" John said.

After scanning me and John and looking up when it beeped, "I'm afraid it's too late for that. Take these two" Otho said.

We turn and see a drone coming down from the sky and seeing it hit a house, "Now, please, turn over your weapons. Some of the people have may not survive the next strike" Otho said.

"Colonel" said the man on the ground pleading, me and John reluctantly lowed our pistols, Ronon looked around to him for instructions and John nodded his head.

Me and John walked, "Just let me do the talking" John said whispering to me, all I could do was nod at him. After we talked to McKay and Teyla and we arrived in the Tower, it did seem almost like the control room of Atlantis.

"You there. Approach" said a man in a chair, "Lieutenant Colonel John Shep" John said, "I know who you are. I saw you in the village" said the man, "You did?" John asked.

"I see all that I need to see within my domain" said the man; he placed his hands on the control pads on the arms of the chair, which reclines. A holographic screen appears above his head, showing live footage from the village.

We gazed up at the screen but we showed little surprise, I look over to see Otho frowning at our lack of shock. We watch as the image zooms in on the rest of our team standing in the middle of the village and talking, though there's no sound from the screen.

"Your friends, they are concerned about you two" the Lord protector said, "Well, um, to be perfectly honest, I'm a little concerned about us too. I mean, um, are we prisoners, right?" John asked.

"A show of force was necessary for the benefit of the villagers. It keeps them from getting ideas. But for the moment I would prefer it if you thought of yourselves as guests" the Lord protector said.

We were put in a room and when I went to bathroom to get ready for bed, I heard that girls voice from dinner, "Well, then, maybe there's something I can do to make you more comfortable" Mora said as I walked out, she was about to take off her robe, "Yo, girl, I think your very mistake if you think Colonel Sheppard wants any part of you" I said and jumped at her.

Mora walked out and I sat down on the bed, "You okay?" John asked, "Yes but wow, I'm might have to punch that girl" I said lying down on the bed. I and John helped ourselves to the bed and the covers and other things that I couldn't say.

Things started to go bad to worse really quick after Beckett showed up, they put us in jail and tried to charge us with something I didn't think we even did. It turned out that it wasn't the son who was trying to kill his father, it was Otho. Go figure it was the one who seemed alright and of course that slut girl Mora tried to get in John's pants and after almost jumping on her and beating the shit out of her. We finally got to go home with some drones.


	12. Chapter 13 I Hate You Sometimes!

Chapter 13 I hate you sometimes!

I ended up meeting up with Weir and Caldwell as they headed to the lab to see what was in that John and his team brought back from their mission.

"Doctor Weir, Alex. Oh! Colonel Caldwell! Welcome back!" Beckett said, "Thank you, Doctor. Colonel. What've we got?" Caldwell asked.

"We think it's a life pod of some kind" John replied, "It appears to be designed solely for the purposes of maintaining a single human life in stasis. This one's a female" Beckett said.

"There's another one in a decaying orbit, but, uh, we could only fit one inside the Jumper" John said, "I've already sent Lorne in Jumper Six to recover the second pod. Ronon and Teyla went along to help them locate it" Weir said.

"Ok! I'm ready to creak her open" McKay said coming up from underneath the pod, "Hey" he finished as he saw Caldwell.

"Hello, Doctor" Caldwell smiled at him, "Hmm" McKay said as he pressed something on the tablet and the lid of the life pod slided open. Inside was a very elderly woman in a green uniform. Carson looked at his scanner.

She's alive barely. It appears we found her very near the end. All the major organs are shutting down" Beckett said, "How long was she out there?" I asked, "There's no way to tell for certain" Beckett replied.

"so she could be an Ancient?" I asked, "Uh, the pod design makes me doubt that" McKay replied, "It's a shame she can't speak with us. Just imagine what she could tell us about her people and about what happened to her" Weir said.

Weir looked down at the woman, a while beam shot out of the pod and enveloped Weir, who started to collapse but John and Caldwell catched her in time.

"Elizabeth!" McKay said, "Medical team to Lab Three, stat!" Beckett said, we were in the in infirmary with Weir lying unconscious in bed as Beckett tended to her. Caldwell was standing on the other side of the bed. McKay walked over to John who was standing nearby with me.

"This is not my fault" McKay said, "We were all there, relax" John said, "She's coming around" Beckett said.

John, me and McKay turn and walk over to her bedside, she opened her eyes and looked around at everybody and sat up.

"You ok?" John asked, "Doctor Weir is fine" Weir said smiling, "Doctor Weir doesn't talk about herself in the third person" I said.

"She was simply overcome by the effects of the imprinting" Weir said, "Security team to the Infirmary" Caldwell said, "That's not necessary, Colonel…Caldwell. She is merely harbouring my consciousness" Weir said.

"Oh, here we go again!" McKay said, "And you are?" I asked, "I am Phebus. We are a race of explorers. On our journey home our vessel was attacked" Phebus/Weir replied.

"By the Wraith?" Caldwell asked, "Yes. We were forced to abandon ship and launch our life pods. If this has happened to me, then I've been adrift for some time and the pod has determined my body is beyond resuscitation" Phebus/Weir replied.

"You're quite correct" Beckett said," Then for all intents and purposes I am already dead" Phebus/Weir said, "I'm sorry" I said, "So am I" Phebus/Weir said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're all very sorry. Where's Elizabeth?" John asked.

"She is here also" Phebus/Weir said, "And I suppose you'd like us to take your word for that?" Caldwell replied, "Would you like to speak with her?" Phebus/Weir said.

"Yes, we would" John replied, Weir lowered her head in an uncannily similar movement to someone allowing a host to take over. She falls back against the pillow momentarily. Carson hurried towards her but Weir came back up and held her hand to her head.

"Doctor Weir?" Caldwell asked, "Oh! Oh, its ok, Carson. I'm-I'm fine" She said, "Elizabeth? I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but there's another, um" John said.

"I know. Her name is Phebus" Weir said, "You seem remarkably sanguine about all this" McKay said, "Well the imprinting will only last a matter of hours. The other pod, Phebus urgently desires to be here when we bring the other pod back to Atlantis" Weir said.

"Why?" John asked, "She believes it's her husband" Weir said, "Husband?" Caldwell asked, "He escaped the ship, she's certain of it and, uh the rush of emotions is…it's overwhelming" Weir said.

"I can imagine" John said, "NO, no, you can't "McKay said, "No, I can't" John admitted, "John, I'd like you to try. Phebus has a favor she would like to ask of you" Weir said.

"She wants you to let some alien imprint on you! And you letting it happen?" I asked, "Yes she does and Yes I am" John replied, "I hate you sometimes!" I yelled walking out of the Infirmary to go meet up with Lorne and the rest of my team who had just got back from getting the other pod.

Me, McKay, John, and Caldwell went down to the lab, Beckett, "As I understand it, the beam that hit Elizabeth was part of a failsafe built into the pod system. As cellular failure progressed, the pod stored her consciousness in a sort of flash memory" I said.

"Why? I mean, what good is the technology if the effects are temporary?" Caldwell asked, "It's a black box" John said, "Well, that makes sense. Even if the body is incapable of being revived, the survivor can still report what happened to their ship. The rescue team could interrogate them even if they were incapable of regaining consciousness" I said.

"You're talking about a human flight recorder. That's pretty dark" Caldwell said, "Pretty useful thing in times of war" John said.

"Well, it could also be the means for two survivors to say one last goodbye, hmm?" McKay said, Beckett wheeled Elizabeth into the lab, she stood up and stepped closer to the pod.

"Are you sure she's up for this?" Caldwell asked, "Physically, she's perfectly fine. Besides, Elizabeth wouldn't take no for an answer" Beckett replied.

"Ah, love is a powerful thing, Carson" Weir said, "You're a hopeless romantic, you know that?" John said.

"Well, you're just as hopeless, otherwise you wouldn't have agreed" Weir said. "I've gone for the respective EEG patterns and I can say with some degree of confidence that this imprinting that Doctor Weir's temporary occupant calls it won't last more than a few hours" Beckett said.

"You can guarantee that?" Caldwell asked, "A day at the most" Beckett replied, "Well! I'm sold! Shall we?" McKay said. "And he's still alive. Same as before. Life signs even fainter than the first one. If we're gonna do this, we should do it now" Beckett said.

"I'd prefer if this alien consciousness were armed"" Caldwell said, "Right" John said as he takes his pistol out of its holster and holds it out to me.

"Colonel Sheppard. You'll have to be in close proximity to the pod for the transfer to happen" Beckett said, "Yeah, yeah, I know" John said.

"But you're not moving" Beckett said, "You know, they were husband and wife. Anything could happen" John said, Weir lowered her head, takes a deep breath and raises it again as Phebus takes over.

"I promise to be discreet, Colonel" Phebus/Weir said, "Well, um, I guess I'll see you guys later" John said as he looked at me and smiled, saying with his eyes that he never he shouldn't say around McKay, Caldwell, Beckett, and Weir.

"Have fun!" McKay said. John walked closer to the pod until he was right beside it. He leans forward slightly and the white beam shoots out of the pod and envelops him As the beam dissipate, john tooters, his eyes closed, Carson starts to move toward him and so do I but Phebus/Weir holds out her hand to stop him.

"Give him a moment" Phebus/Weir said, John stands with his head lowered for moment longer, then his eyes open and his head snaps up and he stares at Elizabeth.

"Thalen? It's me" Phebus/Weir said, "Phebus?" John/Thalen asked, "It's alright, these people recovered our pods. We may well be the very last of our kind. These generous people have allowed us to be together one last time" Phebus/Weir said.

"You consented to this?" John/Thalen asked, "One last chance, to say goodbye to my husband" Phebus/Weir said, she seizes her head and kisses him deeply. Sheppard/Weir shipper squeals loudly enough to break several windows. Carson blinks a couple of times, and then looks away diplomatically. Caldwell, looking a little startled also looks away. I stared at it like I was gonna cry but I knew it wasn't really John and Weir.

"It's not what I expected" John said, "I know this body is different but I assure you, Thalen, it's me. Is it possible for us to be alone, just for a few minutes?" Weir asked as I walked out and went to the control room.

I was of course taking care of the problem from up in the control room when McKay, Beckett and Caldwell came down the stairs, "Report?" Caldwell asked, "We just lost contact with Major Lorne" I replied.

"Alright. I want all non-essential personnel to return directly to their quarters and remain there until notified. The only people I want moving through the city are my security teams" Caldwell said. "Sir" I said, "We may be able to track their progress using the life signs detectors" McKay said, "How? They'll read as human. We won't be able to differentiate" Beckett asked.

"Security teams travel in groups of two or more. They'll be the only individual signals travelling through the city. Let's go!. What are you waiting for?" Caldwell asked.

"Uh, look, I don't wanna get all, uh, chain of command on you here, but, um, I am a senior member of this expedition, so with Elizabeth and Colonel Sheppard out of the equation, then" McKay said.

"I'm in charge" Caldwell said, "No, no, no, no. See I-I don't think that's technically true; because you are here for like, what, about one week out of six. That doesn't" McKay said.

'Is it possible that because I was host to a Goa'uld, you don't trust me, Doctor?" Caldwell said interrupting, "I didn't say that" McKay said.

"I'm the highest ranking military officer here, and this is clearly a military situation. Does that clear things up for you?" Caldwell asked, "Fine!" McKay said, I was sitting there with Chuck when we started hearing Weir and John talk through the radios.

"Sir, I'm picking up some chatter I think you'll want to hear" I said, "Put in on speaker" Caldwell said, "You're the one that likes to run. My ship ran out of fuel before I could even get a clean shot" John/Thalen, "That was my plan" Weir/Phebus replied.

"You didn't have a plan. You just wanted me dead" John/Thalen said, "Still do. As a matter of fact, I can't wait to see that look of defeat on your face, just one last time" Weir/ Phebus said.

"You mean the look on my face when you rammed my fighter, making sure neither one of us would win? That was hatred, not defeat, Phebus" John/Thalen said.

"Is that any way to talk to your wife? Thalen? Run all you like. The moment I find out, you die" Weir/Phebus said, "Well they're heading straight for divorce" Beckett said.

"That whole thing was a ruse, in fact, I doubt very much if we were ever speaking with Doctor Weir" I said, 'It was a remarkable impression, I'll give you that" McKay said.

"From the sound of it, we have two fighter pilots who don't know that their war is over" Caldwell said, "It is much worse than that. They know everything about this city, the layout, defensive systems, how to access weapons" McKay said.

"We just need to find a way to stop them without unduly harming the hosts" Caldwell said, "Unduly? What does that mean?" I asked.

"Well, obviously, some force may be necessary" Caldwell said, "We should contact any teams that may be off world, let 'em know that we're suspending all Gate activity until further notice. We're going to full alert status" I said.

"I think I just located one of them near the power room" McKay said, "What happened?" Beckett asked as all the lights went out.

"The whole city just went dark! Oh, tell me you had someone guarding the power room?" I asked, "Two marines from Daedalus. Hutchinson, this is Caldwell, report? Where's auxiliary power?" Caldwell asked.

"Naqahdah generators aren't kicking in. He or she must have damaged the back-ups" I replied, "We've lost everything?" Caldwell asked.

"Shields, communications, long range and biometric sensors" I replied, "The sensors from the Daedalus we can contact them" Caldwell said.

"Subspace communications are also down" I said, "I need for you to get down to the Power Room, Doctor. Restore primary systems" Caldwell said.

"I should go along too. Marines could be hurt" Beckett said, "Exactly! Marines may have been injured. We can't go down there!" McKay said, "I will send two of my people along with you just in case" Caldwell said.

"Well, how do we know that Sheppard isn't down there waiting in ambush?" McKay asked, "Because he's not trying to kill us, he's trying to kill Doctor Weir" I said, "Oh that is so much more comforting!" McKay said.

"This is not a request, Doctor McKay! Let me know the moment you have a damage assessment" Caldwell said, "Go!" McKay said.

McKay went to go check it out and I stayed up in the control room to help Caldwell, I wanted to go after John but I didn't think that Caldwell would let me. I just had to buy my time and wait until the time was right than make my case.

"Who called in the man down?" Caldwell said, "I don't know, sir, but it sounded like Colonel Sheppard" I said.

"Alright. Send in a medical team. Tell them to be careful not to walk into an ambush" Caldwell said, "Listen, I think I should go after John, It would help, I could talk him down somehow. I know I can" I said. "Go!" Caldwell said.

I was on my way to go find John when I kind of ran into Weir/Phebus, she was shooting at me with a P-90 and I couldn't decide to keep trying to find John or go back to the Control room so I radioed Caldwell and asked what I should do. He said that I should just come up to the control room again. I got to the control room when Weir/Phebus radioed us.

"Caldwell. Can you hear me?" Weir/Phebus asked, "Go ahead" Caldwell replied, "By now you're aware the city is entirely under my control, and there are several bulkhead doors between me and your nearest search teams. You can't possibly get to me" Weir/Phebus said.

"Yes, we're well aware" Caldwell said, "I'm sure Doctor McKay and Doctor Wilson believes they can override my command code and it's possible in a matter of several hours he could, but I don't have that kind of time" Weir/Phebus said.

"We'd be more than happy to wait this out" Caldwell said, "Now who knows what kind of trouble I could cause with life support while I wait?" Or maybe I'll just send a signal to the Wraith, like you did" Weir/Phebus said.

"What do you want?" Caldwell asked, "I want Sheppard" Weir/Phebus replied, "Well, I'm sorry I can't help you with that. Is there something else I can do for you?" Caldwell asked.

"Don't screw with me, Caldwell. At the very least, I can kill Weir. When you get him, contact me" Weir/Phebus said.

"Colonel Caldwell. We have three signals on two separate floors at the base of the tower" I said, "Weir has to be one the one in the science Lab, which leaves these other two over here" Caldwell said, "The other one is Teyla" Chuck said, "This one is Sheppard" I said, "How do you know that?" Caldwell asked.

"I can sense his signal from the ATA gene" I replied, "Teyla, this is Caldwell" he said, "I was unable to capture Doctor Wier" Teyla said.

"So were a lot of people. Weir's put the city under a lockdown. I want you to go after Sheppard. You and he have been locked in the same section. He's one floor up" Caldwell said, "I will contact you as soon as I have him. Teyla out" Teyla said.

We were waiting and then Teyla radioed us that she had John, "Caldwell? Do you have him or not? I'm losing patience" Weir said, "I'm working" McKay said.

"We're working on it" Caldwell said, "I don't buy it, Colonel" Weir said, "I'm telling the truth" Caldwell said, "Oh, please! Even Weir thinks you're hopeless. She can't hide it" Weir said.

"We're close" Caldwell said, "We're not close" I said, "I have found an interesting way of rerouting your new halon fire suppression system all the way from Hazmat storage to personnel quarters. Now, that's where the majority of your city's populations is holed up, isn't it?" Weir/Phebus asked.

"You know it is" Caldwell said, "Ironically, Doctor Weir was concerned when the system was installed that halon gas extinguishes people as well as fires. So, shall we take it to the point that I start counting down from an arbitrary number?" Weir/Phebus asked.

"we have him" Caldwell said, "I thought you might. There's a new security camera on the northern-most stairwell of that part of the tower. I want him taken there so that I can see him kicking and screaming if possible" Weir said.

"Teyla, we've been requested to put the Colonel in front of the nearest security camera" Caldwell said, "I'm doing that right now, Colonel" Teyla said, "I'm not surprised that you're the only one that managed to get to him" Weir/Phebus said to Teyla.

"What do you want?" Teyla asked, "we're just gonna wait until he regains consciousness" Weir/Phebus said. We made sure that we were off radio so we could take about what we needed and could do.

"Are you making any progress?" Caldwell asked, "Yes" McKay replied, "Really?" Caldwell said unconvinced, "I would just like to state for the record that it is astounding to me that once again, I find myself in a position of having to save this city when you and your…space marines can't figure out how to track down two people" McKay said.

"They're two people with the skills and resources of Doctor Weir and Colonel Sheppard, who probably know this city better than anyone else. And also for the record, I was against this from the very beginning" Caldwell said, "yes, y…Yes you were" McKay said, "Thank you! Please continue" Caldwell said.

I was in front of my laptop hooked up to the cameras, when John came on one of them, I zoomed it in to where that was the only one I saw. "Sir, I have Colonel Sheppard on my screen" I said.

"Wrong again. Still hatred" John/Thalen said, "I guess I'm satisfied with this. Teyla?" Weir/Phebus asked.

"Yes?" Teyla asked, "Kill him" Weir/Phebus said, I blinked back tears as I saw Teyla stare in shock, "Don't listen to her" John/Thalen said, "Kill him now, or I vent halon suppressant into all the living spaces in Atlantis" Weir/Phebus said.

"McKay?" Caldwell said, "I know, I know. I'm almost done here" McKay said, "Colonel, can she do this?" Teyla asked.

Caldwell looked at me, "Yes. She's created a shunt between the fire suppressant system and life support" I said, "I believe so" Caldwell said, "How many people are at risk?" Teyla asked.

"Three-quarters of the expedition" Caldwell replied, "Why are you doing this?" Teyla asked turning to the camera, "I have spent my entire life at war with his world. Thousands have died with no hope for victory, both sides reduced to mere handful of fighters. If he really is the last then in the end my people will have won" Weir/Phebus replied.

"Don't believe her" John/Thalen said, "Believe me when I say I have absolutely nothing to lose. IN a very short time, I will feel excruciating pain, this body will convulse and I will cease to exist. That's what I ahead for me. All I can hope for now is to achieve victory for my people" Weir/Phebus said.

"Phebus, you people are long dead. Who lost or won a war so many years ago does not matter" Teyla said, "It matters to me" Weir/Phebus said. I turned to Caldwell, "As soon as McKay overrides her code, I'm going to go down there" I said.

"I've got it! I'm overriding her code now" McKay said, "Are you sure?" Caldwell asked, "It's done! Go!" McKay replied.

"Teyla, this is Caldwell. Do not fire! I repeat, do not fire!" Caldwell said, I got to the room where John and Teyla were before anyone else, "You're never gonna believe me, so…I'm not even gonna try" John/Thalen said as I walked in, I ran up to Teyla and got down on my knees.

"Stand away from him and up against the wall" Weir/Phebus said, 'He is unconscious" I said as I saw John close his eyes, "I don't know how many bullets I have left in this thing, or I would have already shot you! I said back off! Unconscious or not, I wanna see his face" Weir said. The Wraith stunner I gave John was in his hands and he popped up and shot her.

She convulsed and collapsed to the floor, I kicked the stunner out of John's hands, Lorne and some other marines ran in, "You two alright?" Lorne asked, "yes it is over" I replied.

"Sorry we took so long. We got stuck in that damned corridor for two hours" Lorne said to Teyla, "Call a medical team and have them both taken to the Infirmary" I said, "You got it. This is Lorne. I need a medical team to my location" Lorne said.

"How'd you know it was me?" John asked, "I still do not. Keep his hands bound until Doctor Beckett tells you otherwise" Teyla replied.

"Well, if you didn't know, why'd you let her give me the stunner?" John asked, "Because you would have shot her either way" Teyla replied. I was sitting by John's bed all night until Thalen finally let go and left John's mind.

"What is going on?" John asked, "Thalen finally decided to let go" I replied smiling, "Finally! Please tell me that he didn't try and get you to believe anything?" he asked, "No he didn't, I was on my way to track you down after Weir shot Ronon when I ran into Weir and she started shooting at me. I was pinned down for a while, I didn't know where you were so I went back to the control room" I said.

It was morning by the time Phebus finally let go, Weir started to wake up, "Good morning!" John said, "Good morning" Weir said, "What's her-name sure hung in there for a while" John said, "When when did she?" Weir asked.

"Some time in the middle of the night, kicking and screaming" John said, "Yeah, well that was the strangest feeling, you know?" Weir asked.

"The entire time I was shouting to everyone, but nothing I wanted to would come out my mouth" John nodded in agreement, "I know. It was a real nightmare. Especially when you shot Ronon" he finished.

"Oh god! But I wasn't" Weir said, "I know, I know. It was her" John said, "How is he?" Weir asked, "He's fine. Teyla and Rodney just went to see him in post op" John said.

"Did they believe you were…you?" Weir asked, "To be honest, I think the only people who believe one hundred percent are Beckett, you, Alex" John replied, "And me" Caldwell said.

"In fact, I can safely say that I know how you feel" Caldwell said, "Yes, Sir!" John said, "Thank you Colonel, for keeping a potentially explosive situation under control" Weir said.

"Yeah, well, it was a lot closer than I would like to admit" Caldwell said, "For what it's worth, uh, Mckay says you did a good job" John said.

"Did he? Well….maybe there's still hope for me yet!" Caldwell said, "Oh god, no! Don't believe anything she might have said!" Weir said after remembering what Phebus said to Caldwell.

I'm kidding. Don't give it another thought. Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm sure you'll both agree that the paperwork on this is going to be nightmares especially that kiss" Caldwell said.

John and Weir stared at him in horror and John turned to me and thought I would leave but I understood that it wasn't him and Weir.

"Yes, sir" John said, "Well, try not to kill each other while I'm gone" Caldwell said. After that, Beckett came in saying that they looked good and they could get out of there. I walked with John without talking until we got to our room, John laid down and stared at the ceiling, we didn't talk or do anything really, just kind of sat there and looked at different things. We really didn't know what to say.

John was happy enough to just go to bed and not talk about the day before and the events that had happened. I was happy enough too, I didn't have to track down my boyfriend and stun him but I did see one of my good friends get shot and I saw Phebus try and play around with peoples head and say she was going to kill after of the city's people with halon fire.

It was awkward in the end for John and Weir to finally talk about it and get past the fact that they kissed even though they don't have any feelings for each other. They ended up getting over it and starting to become the same people they were before it happened.


	13. Chapter 14 Oh My God

Chapter 14 Oh My God!

Being a part time member on Lorne teams on some ups and downs to it, like when John and his team got called to help them out, that was an up, well that's what I thought at first until I saw John and body bags.

"What the hell happened out there?" Weir asked, "As you know, Lorne and his team had the weekly detail escorting Doctor Lindsay to 177" John replied, "yes, the one who was educating the people on more effective agricultural and fishing methods" Weir said.

"Yeah, that's right. Things were going along smoothly until our guys were attacked" John said, "Just like that, out of the blue?" I asked, "It seems that way" John replied, "By whom? The villagers?" I asked.

"I don't know. Lindsay's not a real useful source of information right now. She's a little shook up. Beckett gave her a sedative. Hopefully she'll be able to give us more info later" John said, "Unscheduled off world activation" Chuck said.

"What have you got?" Weir asked, "No IDC, but we are receiving a pretty weak transmission on the VHF band. Audio and Video" Chuck replied, "Let's see it" John said.

A slightly blurry image appears on the large screen behind the Chuck, the face is somewhat familiar to me, and he was Genii who took over the base in during the storm. "Atlantis Base, this is Ladon Radim. Are you receiving transmission?" Ladon asked, "It's one of Kolya's men" John said.

"Yeah, I know who he is. We can't answer this, though. I need the Genii of all people to believe that Atlantis has been destroyed" Weir said, 'I know we got the word out" John said.

"My men have witnessed your teams dialing and returning through the Stargate to Atlantis more than once. From that I can deduce that the rumors of your city's demise are greatly exaggerated" Ladon said.

"Sneaky, I'll give 'em that" John said, "You're secret is safe as long as you respond to this transmission" Ladon said, "Open a channel" Weir said, "Atlantis base, this is Ladon Radim" Ladon said, "We hear you. This is Weir" she said, "Doctor Weir. I was beginning to fear the rumors of your destruction were true" Ladon said.

"What do you want?" Weir asked, "I have something to trade" Ladon replied, "Don't think I don't recognize you, Ladon. You're a member or Kolya's strike force. You tried to forcibly take this city from us. Why would we wanna do business with you?" Weir asked.

"Because I have defected from the Genii" Ladon said, "Well, good luck with that!" I said, "And I have a Zero Point Module" Ladon said.

"And I have a tentative truce with the Genii that I'm not very eager to jeopardize" Weir said, "The Genii got what they wanted. They want no more from you and this is of no use to me. But I know how important these devices are to your continued survival. Now we can discuss this in person. Lower your shields and allow me safe passage into the city" Ladon said.

"We're not interested, Ladon" Weir said, "This is far, far better than the last trade you made with the Genii, Doctor and you know it. I'm transmitting the Gate address to the planet I'm on. you can send a team to search me if you wish, but I am unarmed and alone. I'll be here for two hours. If I don't hear from you within that time, this Zero Point Module will be lost to you forever" Ladon said.

"A ZPM is a ZPM. Who cares where it comes from?" I asked, "We've already got one" John said, "yes, one" McKay said, "Two's better than one" Ronon said, "And three is than two. Look, we all know that eventually the Wraith are gonna discover we're still here. Having more power means that we have more options. We might even be able to light ip the engines and get the city to fly" McKay said.

"Really?" John asked, "No, but we still need it" I replied, "Well, flying city or not, I think we should consider this" Weir said.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you the one the Genii threatened to kill on two separate occasions?" John asked, "He says he's alone and he's willing to be searched" Weir replied.

"Wait a minute. We should be dealing with Lorne and his team, find out what happened to them" John said, "Teyla and Ronon will continue with that investigation, and you can join them once you finish up with this" Weir said.

"Alright. Get a MALP ready with a life signs detector. I'm not sending my team in there blind" John said, I was working with John until I went to go help Teyla and Ronon.

"I'm getting telemetry back from the MALP" I said, "I'm only reading one life sign" McKay said, "Then so far he's telling the truth" Weir said, "So far" John said.

Ladon walks towards the MALP, kneels down in front of it and puts his hands on his head, "As I'm sure your machine has already determined, I am unarmed and alone. You can go ahead and send your team to search me" Ladon said, "Go ahead" John said.

Ladon and the security team came through the gate, we walked up to Ladon after they said he was clean, "What no ZeePM?" John asked, "I sent it to another planet for safe keeping, how stupid do you think I am?" Ladon asked, "From what I remember, I gave you a pretty good crack on the head last time we met, so I was kind of hoping it made you simple" John replied, "No, it didn't…but ever since then I've been plagued with headaches" Ladon said.

"You're just saying that to be nice. What do you want for it?" John asked, "I'll only talk with Weir" Ladon said, "Do I make you nervous?" John asked, "Not at all, Major. I'm just not interested in talking to the errand boy" Ladon replied.

"That's lieutenant Colonel Errand Boy to you" John said, John took him away and I went to go to the Infirmary to start helping with trying to find out what happened to Lorne and the rest of my team. "It's not them" Beckett said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, "These bodies you found are not Lorne and his men" Beckett replied, "But they were wearing their dog tags" I said, "I don't know what to tell you. I've run the DNA tests three times now" Beckett said.

"Then Lorne and his men could still be alive" Ronon said, "Doctor Lindsay heard Wraith Stunners before the fire broke out" Teyla said, "But this wasn't a Wraith attack, so" Weir said.

"So whoever it was wanted us to think they were dead" Ronon said, "then who? What could they possibly want with Lorne?" I asked.

"We need to go back. Question the villagers" Ronon said, "Ok. But regular radio contact, please" Weir said as we headed out.

We were asking questions left and right, we were in a bar, "Never heard of her" the barkeep said, "Are you certain? Deera, she was friends with the men who were killed last night" Teyla said, "I said I never heard of her" the barkeep said.

"This is a small community, friend, surely you know her? She lived in the house that burned down. We would just like to ask her some questions" Teyla said, "I just tend to my bar and my family. I mind my business and I suggest you do the same" the Barkeep said, "We wanna know why our friends were killed" Ronon said as he slapped a hand down on his left shoulder, then leans over his right shoulder while draping his arm around the man's left shoulder.

"Ronon" I said, "He knows something. Everyone here knows something" Ronon said, "let him go" I said, "Who are you trying to protect?" Ronon asked.

"if you know what's best for you, you'll go back from where you came. They're watching us. They'll kill us all if you're not careful" Said the barkeep, "Who?" Ronon asked.

"We can protect you, help you fight them" Teyla said, "No you can't. Leave me be" said the barkeep, we were walking away and I really just wanted to find out what happened to them.

"I hope Beckett found some sort of clue, cause this was a giant waste of time" I said, the girl who was serving behind the bar called out to us, "Excuse me? You- you left this behind" she said.

"it's not ours" Ronon said, "yes it is" she said, "Of course. How foolish of me. Thank you" Teyla said, "What's inside?" Ronon asked.

"Not here" Teyla said, and we walked down a ally, "What is it?" I asked, "I do not know. These are pictures of some of the Atlantis off world team members" Teyla replied.

"There" Ronon said, "Major Lorne! Why would the villagers have these?" I asked, " The writing on the side here is in a bunch of different languages, offering a great reward for their capture. I bet they've been circulated to dozens of planets" Ronon said.

I took two more pictures out of the bag and seeing who it was, "I hope you are wrong" I said, we came back through the gate to see a bunch of Genii sitting around the Gate room.

"How did it go?" Weir asked, "What did we miss?" Ronon asked, "We have some guests" Weir replied, "yeah, I can see that" Ronon said.

"Doctor Weir, there is something you need to see" Teyla said, "Let's go to my office. What's all this?" Weir asked.

"It's a wanted list. We figure it's on as many worlds as there are languages on the photos" I said, "Who would do that?" Weir asked, "We aren't sure, but the planet where Lorne's team disappeared is quite poor. It is conceivable they gave up Lorne and his men for some sort of reward" I said.

"To who?" Weir asked, "And why aren't we on it?" Ronon asked, "Excuse me?" Weir said, "Sheppard's on the list; McKay is on the list. Why aren't Teyla, Alex and me?" Ronon asked, "What, you're feeling left out?" Weir asked.

"I just wanna know who thinks I'm not a threat and give 'em a chance to change their mind" Ronon said, "The gene. They all have the gene" Weir said, 'The gene of the Ancestors?" Teyla asked.

"Yes. Naturally or not, all these men possess the ATA gene" Weir said, "But why would someone want people simply because they possess a certain kind of gene?" Teyla asked.

"Maybe they think it will hurt our ability to operate the city. But Ronon, that's why you're not here. See? Most of Edison's team is on the list except Toreil. He's the only one on that team that doesn't have the gene" Weir said.

"Still doesn't make any sense" Ronon said, 'I suggest you call these men back if they are off world" Teyla said, "Yes. And most of these guys are on an operation with Sheppard right now. We are raiding Ladon's warehouse and stealing back the ZeePM. We detained most of his team when they came here to pick up the weapons we offered them. Once Sheppard and the team get back, I will suspend all their off world activity until we can get to the bottom of this" Weir said.

"Doctor Weir, Please report to the Infirmary" Beckett said, "On my way, Carson. This is probably about the bodies. You three should come along" Weir said.

"I think I know who's behind this" Beckett said as we walked in, "Ok" Weir said, "Whoever these bodies belonged to, they didn't die in that fire" Beckett said, "They died before they burned?" Teyla asked, "Aye, mostly from internal bleeding and breakdown of the bone marrow" Beckett said.

"What does that mean?" I asked, "It means they probably died of severe radiation poisoning. Now form what I know, there's only one race of people that could possibly be exposed to the amount of radiation that would cause this kind of damage" Beckett said, "The Genii" I said.

"Aye, exactly" Beckett said, "If the Genii are behind this" Teyla said, "We need to call back Sheppard's team" Ronon said.

We were up in the control room about to call back John and the rest of the men that was with him, "Unscheduled off world activation!" I said, "What have we got?" Weir asked.

"Not sure yet, ma'am. I'm not reading an IDC" I replied, "Doctor Weir, This is commander Cowen, leader of the Genii" Cowen said, "Where is Colonel Sheppard?" Weir asked.

"He's right here with me, along with the men you sent to storm this complex. Some would view that as an act of war" Cowen said, "We were just trying to quell your rebellion before it started" Weir said.

"I think we both know what your intentions were, Doctor. And now it's time you became aware of mine. I will release your men, but I expect something in return" Cowen said.

"We have twelve of your own: How about a straight trade?" Weir asked, "The Genii you've imagined as your potential hostages are terminally ill. They volunteered for the mission. They knew they were never coming back from the moment they heard my plan" Cowen said.

"Why are you doing this?" Weir asked, "The Genii people need the Lantean ships you call Jumpers. I believe you have ten of them. You have one hour to bring them all here" Cowen said, "And if I don't?" Weir asked.

"We will kill one of your team every fifteen minutes until our demands are met. Oh, and we will be starting with Colonel Sheppard" Cowen said as I stepped back almost falling over.

"Lieutenant Miller performed a cloaked scan of the planet. It looks like the Genii have moved in a massive amount of troops over the past fifteen minutes. I'm afraid they have us greatly outnumbered. Any attempt to extract our men would result in many casualties on both sides" I said, "Let me get in there and see what I can do" Ronon said.

"No. The last thing I need is for more of us to fall into their hands. How are our Genii guests doing?" Weir asked, "Well, they have a number of different symptoms and ailments, but they all trace back to one thing: radiation poisoning" Beckett replied, "Well McKay warned them that the shielding for their fission experiments was dangerously insufficient. I guess they didn't listen" I said.

"Aye" Beckett said, "Can you cure them?" Weir asked, "There are some experimental treatment protocols I've been able to get my hands on, although some of them are just too far gone to do anything but pain management, but I do believe I can save at least eight of them" Beckett said.

"Alright. Let's hope they will trade their people for ours" Weir said, "Do we have a back-up plan?" I asked.

"We're not handing ten of our Jumpers over the Genii. Let's just hope this works. I don't think you understand. Most of your people can be cured, including Ladon's sister" Weir said as she talked to Cowen again, "Oh, I understand. What you need to understand is, I don't care" Cowen said.

"What?" Weir asked, "I think you're playing for time, Doctor Weir" Cowen replied, "Your people can be cured. Now let me return them to you and let them live out the rest of their lives with their families on their home world" Weir said.

"The Genii need those Jumpers. Until you are prepared to part with them, this conversation is over" Cowen said, "You kill one of my people and we are in a state of war" Weir said.

"Oh, yes, yes! I well; I don't quite know how I'll live with myself! I will contact you again in fifteen minutes, so you can decide whether you would like Doctor McKay to live. In the meantime, you have forfeited the life of Colonel Sheppard" Cowen said, "Cowen, wait!" Weir said but he didn't reply, she looked over at Chuck who shook his head.

"Anything?" Weir asked, as she walked into the control room, we're still connected, but he's turned the radio off. I'm not getting any signal" I replied, "Damn it! Elizabeth, what if we offered them one Jumper in exchange for Colonel Sheppard?" Beckett asked.

"Carson, we have less than fifteen minutes before they kill McKay" Weir said, "You can deliver all the Jumpers you want. They're gonna kill everyone. We need to attack them now" Ronon said.

We were sitting there waiting, when we got a IDC, "Receiving Doctor McKay's IDC" I said, "Defense teams, stand by! Lower the shield, Rodney!" Weir said as we both ran down the stairs.

"It's Ladon. He's letting us go in exchange for his people" McKay said, "Ladon's in charge?" I asked, "Yeah, he's about to be" McKay replied.

"He really was planning a coup" Weir said, "Apparently, we're a part of the plan" McKay said, John and Ladon walked through the gate, "Shield up" John said. "Now, please, would like to see my sister" Ladon said.

Me and John walked into Weir's office, "The coup was successful. Ladon Radim is the new leader of the Genii" John said, "Wow that was fast" Weir said.

"Well, once people found out Cowen and his elite guards were out of the picture, his loyalists laid their weapons. They're billing it as a bloodless coup because no one died on their home soil" John said, "So a nuclear explosion and the lives of an entire battalion of men don't count?" Weir asked.

"yeah, it's all spin. What'd you think the fallout's gonna be?" John asked, "Well, historically, most coups end up with the new government being about as bad as the old one" I replied.

"I don't know. He seemed pretty grateful we saved his sister" John said, "There's that" Weir said, "He did save me and my team" John said, "There's that too" I said.

"So I say we call it a win" John said, 'Who's spinning now?" Weir asked, "Alright. Then I say we call it night" John said as we start to leave, "That we can do" Weir said as me and John left to go to our room. We walked hand in hand to our room, we were smiling all the way there, when we got to our room, John jumped into the shower as I got dressed for bed. I was lying down in bed when John got out of the shower and kissed me. I smiled and kissed him back, we ended up getting all our clothes off and having really hot sex! We were lying in bed and trying to fall asleep.

John hadn't talk much about what had happened and either one of us really wanted to so we just fell asleep. I love him with all my heart and I knew that I wanted to have a family with him one day but if we lived in Atlantis, the thought about the Wraith showing up here and hurting me, hurting our children would kill John more than me being hurt.


	14. Chapter 15 I Told You It Was A Bad Idea

Chapter 15 I told you it was a bad idea

John, Weir, McKay and Beckett had a great idea, or what they thought was a great idea to get a Wraith and make him human, I tried to tell John that I didn't think it was a good idea but he didn't seem to want to listen to what I had to say. I think he was just thinking that it would be a good idea so we can find a way to beat the Wraith.

I meet Weir at the ICO room to see how Michael was doing. "Blood pressure's fine, pulse normal. You're bouncing back quite nicely" Beckett said, "Bouncing back from what?" Michael asked.

"Hullo, Michael. Do you remember me?" Weir asked, "No" Michael replied, "I'm Doctor Elizabeth Weir. This is Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard and Doctor Alex Wilson" Weir said.

"You serve under my command" John said, "Do you know where you are?" I asked, "I don't even know who I am!" Michael replied.

"Your name is Lieutenant Michael Kenmore. You're a private room off the Infirmary here in Atlantis" I said, Michael lifts his head as if he recognizes that last word, "Is that familiar to you?" I asked.

"Atlantis, Yeah, I think" Michael replied, "You're a member of a team that went off world. You were captured by the Wrath" John said, Michael looked away as if lost in thought.

"I see you remember the Wraith" Beckett said, "What did they do to me?" Michael asked, "We're not quite sure yet" I replied.

"We sent a rescue team for you but, um, you were wounded during the mission" John said, "You're been unconscious for days now, had us worried sick" Beckett said.

"Why can't I remember anything?" Michael asked, "We don't know yet. Hopefully we'll learn more as we conduct further tests" Beckett replied.

"And in the meantime, I can assure you that we will give you the best possible care to help in your recovery" Weir said. Later on that day, me, Teyla, John, Weir, Carson and Doctor Kate heightmeyer were talking in the conference room.

"He said I was familiar to him. He asked if we were friends" Teyla said, "How did you respond?" Weir asked, "I said we were. After everything he has been through, I thought some positive news could not hurt" Teyla said.

"I think you're right. Stabilization is the first critical stage in his psychological treatment. He's doing quite well so far, but it's important we do what we can to ease his recovery" Heightmeyer said, "What's the next stage?" I asked.

"Integration into the community, followed by relation development" she replied, "How is he doing physically?" Weir asked Carson, "Excellent. Vitals normal. All he needs is a bit of physical therapy to regain muscle tone and coordination" Beckett replied.

"Do you think he's ready to be released?" Weir asked, "I do" Beckett replied, "I don't think that's such a good idea. We still don't know if there are any residual effects he might be carrying around" I said.

"What do you think, Doctor? Is he ready to join the community?" Weir asked, "A change of scenery could be very beneficial to him" Heightmeyer replied.

"Alright then. Release him" Weir said, about 3 days went by and things were still a little weird around Michael. I had a feeling that he knew that people were keeping things from him but he wasn't quite sure about it yet.

Me, John, and Ronon were walking through the hallways and we saw Michael, "Lieutenant" John said, "Colonel" Michael replied, "Where you off to?" I asked, "My quarters. Doctor Beckett gave me some pills, help me get some sleep. Thought I'd give 'em a try" Michael said.

"No alcohol or heavy machinery" John said smiling, "Excuse me?" Michael said confused, "Nothing. Sleep well" John said, "Hey, Ronon. Um. I don't know what happened between us in the past, but if I ever did anything to hurt or upset you, I just wanted to say that.. I'm sorry" Michael said.

"Ronon, shake the man's hand" John said when Michael put his hand out, "I don't think so" Ronon said, "He's trying to bury the hatchet. It's not a bad idea, don't you think?" John said, "I gotta go" Ronon said.

"Look, I just wanna know" Michael said, Ronon punches Michael hard in the face, instinctively, Michael punches back at him, Ronon ducked the punch and hits him hard in the stomach.

"Knock it off! Knock it off" John said, Ronon walked away and so did Michael. Me and John were left standing there, confused. Well, at least I was, I knew Ronon didn't like Michael but damn I never thought he would have done that.

The next day, me, John and Weir went to Michaels room and he was on his feet and turned the laptop around to show us one of the videos we had taped of his transformation, "You lied to me. I'm a Wraith" Michael said, "You were a Wraith, yes. Michael please" I said.

"Don't call me that. That's not my name" Michael said, "Alright, take it easy" John said moving in front of me and putting his hand on his holstered pistol.

"If you would let us explain?" Weir asked, "Go ahead. Explain. But no more lies" Michael said angrily, "Aright. This is what we know of the Wraith. They evolved from a creature that we call the iratus bug. Now that bug began taking on characteristics of the humans it was feeding on and, over time, became the Wraith that we know now. So Doctor Beckett has developed a drug" Weir said.

"It's a retrovirus designed to suppress the iratus bug elements of the Wraith genetic code, leaving only the human aspects behind. It took some time to perfect but we finally achieved a viable drug, which we then decided to test" I said.

"The injections? Insulin?" Michael asked, "Not insulin. I'm sorry. You see, once the retrovirus was administered and the transformation begun, another drug was needed to prevent the Wraith elements from returning. It's actually a combination of drugs which unfortunately require a daily injection" Beckett said when he showed up.

"So what are you saying that-that being a Wraith is some kind of disease, something you think you can cure? What gives the right to do this to me?" Michael said.

"We're at war. The Wraith will stop at nothing to kill every one of us. And we'll stop at nothing to make sure that doesn't happen" John said, "You made up everything: My name, the photograph of my parents" Michael said.

"It was my decision to keep the truth from you" Weir said, "Why?" Michael asked angrily, "For a while, we were concerned that if you were told, you may react the way you are now" Weir replied.

"The whole point was to erase any trace of Wraith inside you, not to keep reminding you of it. And trust me, you're a helluva lot better off now than you were before" John said.

"You sense we're telling the truth" I said knowing that was going through his head, no matter how much he didn't want to believe us, he knew it was true. I wasn't sure what was gonna happen now but I knew that as soon as I knew everything and everyone was safe again that I was gonna tell John I told you so.

We were all in the conference room. "This whole thing was a bad idea" Ronon said, "No, it wasn't. The retrovirus works that much is clear. Just look at the guy. I few can figure out how to deploy this as a biological weapon, it's possible that we can hit entire hive ships and turn them into humans" John said.

"That's still a ways off, and I've let to develop an effective long term dose to keep the Wraith elements suppressed for a lifetime" Beckett said, "But the point is, we are getting closer" Weir said.

"You know, you may be able to make him look like a human, talk like a human, but he'll still be a Wraith. Nothing you do will ever change that" Ronon said, I look at John, I agreed with Ronon.

Doctor Heightmeyer confirmed he believes he's still experiencing Wraith compulsions. Is there anything more you can do to help suppress them?" Weir asked, "I don't know. It could merely be a psychological manifestation" Beckett said, "Maybe we s-hould up his dose" John said as everyone looks at him, "Yeah, I know you said give it more time, but now that he knows what's going on, things might start going from bad to worse" he finished.

"I agree" Weir said, "He's due for his next injection now. I could go ahead and increase the dosage, monitor him closely" Beckett said, "Let's just hope he agrees to take it" I said, "Well, if he doesn't, we'll have to insist. Who knows, maybe another big dose might wipe his memory clean again" John said.

"And then what? We start the lies all over again?" I asked, walking out, I ran into Sergeant Cole, "Where did you come from?" He asked, "Talking about what we are going to do about Michael. Where are you headed?" I replied, "To get Michael, do you want to join me?" Cole asked.

"No, I'll pass" I replied walking off, about 20 minutes later, I got called on the radio from Weir saying to meet them in the conference room.

"We can't keep him here, even locked up. It's too dangerous" Weir said, "We can take him to the Alpha site. We'll sedate him first so he won't know where it is" John said, "And then what?" I asked.

"Continue with the drug treatments" Weir replied, "Continue?" I asked, "Doctor Beckett was about to start increasing the dosage. Hopefully that will be effective in eliminating any remaining Wraith impulses" Weir said.

"Why are we even talking about this? He killed one of your people. Your experiment didn't work. We should kill him right now" Ronon said, "We can't kill him, Ronon. We're the ones who put him in this position" Heightmeyer said, "Hold on a minute, Doc. If we hadn't given him the retrovirus, he'd still be Wraith. We wouldn't think twice about killin him" John said.

"But we did give him the retrovirus. We made him human. Now we have the responsibility to treat him as we would any other" Teyla said but Ronon interrupted "He's not human. He's a Wraith" Ronon said.

"Carson, what do you think? Is it worth continuing with these treatments?" Weir asked, "I, uh. I don't know. I suppose it's worth seeing how he fares with the increased dosage" Beckett replied, "I agree. We've come too far with this just to abandon it now" Weir said.

John and me were walking to get geared up to take Michael to the Alpha site, when we got there, I turned to him and looked at him, "what?" he asked, "I didn't say anything, John" I replied, "But your thinking about something, talk to me" he said walking over to me. "I told you this was a bad idea. But you didn't listen to me like always" I said, "I know and I'm gonna make this right again" John said.

About 2 hours later, we were all in the conference room again, talking about what happened on the Alpha site. Michael had used his mind powers to have Teyla break him free and then kidnapped her and dialed another address and took off, lucky Teyla wrote the gate address down for John and Ronon and they found her safe and sound.

"He had completely transformed back into a Wraith?" I asked, "Not completely, but well on his way" John replied, "His reversion occurred at a much more accelerated rate than we anticipated" Beckett said, "Unfortunately, his memory of what we did to him remain intact" Teyla said, "I shoulda killed him when I had the chance" Ronon said, "He's right. We are totally screwed. Not only has our dear lieutenant rejoined the Wraith, but he's taken with him the knowledge that Atlantis still exists" I said.

"God knows what type of intel he was able to pick up during his stay" John said, "They will send another way of hive ships" Teyla said, "Probably already on their way" Ronon said, "And this time, I'm guessing they're not gonna fall for the whole invisibility trick" McKay said, "We need to come up with a new defense plan" I said, "We're gonna need more fire power" John said.

We all went our different ways after being filled in, knowing that the Wraith could be on their way right now, scared the living crap out of me and I could tell that John was very worried too but he was gonna be strong for me and for everyone else on this base because that's what he did all the time. It wasn't until we were alone in our room that he actually showed that he was actually worried about Michael being back in Wraith hands.


	15. Chapter 16 Hot?

Chapters 16 Hot?

John wanted me to come with the team to check out a planet that had dialed us for help, we were standing in control room on the planet, looking at the view, I look over to McKay and he seemed to be more interested in Norena than the view.

"Impressive" John said, "Hmm!" McKay said, "This is our central control room" Norena replied, "The austerity of the facility suggests that it was built during the height of war" I said.

"It is well beyond our science. My skills are rudimentary at best" Norena said, "Ah, don't be so hard on yourself. It took Doctor McKay years to figure out all things Ancient and he still doesn't completely understand" John said, "I have a very firm grasp of Ancient technology" McKay said defensively, "You're blow up entire planets, Rodney" John said, "That wasn't my fault!" McKay said, "Well, it didn't do it by itself!" John replied.

After John and McKay finished their little child fight, an older man came in, "Are these our guests?" he asked, "yes, chancellor. Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, Doctor Rodney McKay, Doctor Alexandra Wilson, Teyla Emmagan, and Ronon Dex. Chancellor Laikos" Norena replied, "Welcome to Taranis" Laikos said.

"Thank you" I said, "And thank you for finally answering our calls for assistance. We tried several addresses from the database but were beginning to wonder if anyone could hear us" Laikos said, "Sorry about that. Um, we like to keep a low profile" John said, "So as not to attract the attention of the Wraith" Teyla said, "I see. Well, hopefully you can help us. Our shield generator has been giving us trouble for some time now. Our knowledge of the technology is limited, and the Ancestors regrettably neglected to leave behind instruction manuals" Laikos said.

McKay laughed derisively, "Actually they did. You probably just couldn't understand.." McKay said, "The good news is you found our address. I'm sure we can fix whatever needs fixing" John said, "And by we, he means me, so shall we get started?" McKay asked, "I'm sure I could learn a lot from you, Doctor" Norena said, "Oh! Well, I'm sure I can learn; um let's start here, shall we?" McKay asked, "In the meantime, perhaps you'd like a tour of the facility" Laikos said, "Lead the way" I said.

Later on, we were in a elevator and the door open and we exited it, "Ohh! My ears just popped!" John said, "We are deep underground. The ancestors constructed an extensive system of corridors and tunnels throughout the facility and beyond. It was by following such a tunnel beneath our nearest settlement that we discovered this facility" Laikos said, there was a loud rumbling and the complex shock violently. "What was that?" I asked, "Oh, just a tremor. Nothing to be concerned with. Uh, please, this way" Laikos replied.

"This is main hangar" Laikos said, "Hangar? For what?" John asked, "Mere description would be inadequate" Laikos replied, he waved his hand past a standard ancient door panel and the door opened, he leads us inside, we walk to a balcony , mine and John's jaws drop.

"I see what you mean!" John said, we see an ancient ship, its way bigger than the Daedalus and looks so much like the Aurora. Me and John went back to Atlantis to talk to Weir about the people of the planet and the ship.

"It's an aurora class warship. Obviously the Ancients built more than one of them" John said, "Why didn't we become aware of it at the same time our sensors picked up the Aurora?" Weir asked, "It's damaged, probably form the war with the Wraith" I replied, "Beyond repair?" Weir asked.

"I don't know. Their scientists or at least the folks who call themselves scientists have been working on it for years but its way out of their league. They know how to turn things on and off, but as far as fixing problems" John said.

"Well, Rodney should still have the technical specs you brought back from the Aurora mission" Weir said, "I told him to take a look at them but first I want him to fix the, uh, shield generator, build some goodwill with these people" John said, "Good idea. Hopefully we can establish an alliance with them. A ship like that" Weir said, 'Would come very much in hardy now that the Wraith are probably on their way, I know. Uh, we are gonna get back there now, uh make sure McKay's not distracted" John said.

"Distracted?" Weir asked, "Ah, well, the lead scientist, uh, she's very, um" John said, "hot?" Weir asked, "I was gonna say attractive. But McKay is acting very, uh" John said, "Smitten?" Weir asked, "I was gonna say pathetic" John said.

"Wait. I should head back with you and begin negotiations with the Taranan leader. What's he like?" Weir asked, "He is not attractive" I said, me and John got back to the control room on the planet and walked up to McKay.

"How goes it, Rodney?" John asked, "Uh, I was just, uh, still running diagnostics" McKay replied, "Still? Thought you would have had that fixed. If you want, um, Alex can, I'm sure she could" John said, "I can handle it, thank you! What are you doing back so soon? I mean, I told you this might take some time" McKay said, "Elizabeth wanted to talk to the chancellor see if we can establish relations with these good people" I said.

"That would be wonderful" Norena said

, "In fact, you've been working awfully hard, and maybe you should keep doing that" John said.

"I was just about to, uh; show Norena the Generator log which, uh, shows that. Uh, you've been running the shield continuously for over a year now" McKay replied, "Yes. When the device was activated, you told what it was call" Norena said.

"The long range scanners, that's just what *we* call them" I said, "It's from an old TV show" John said, "Yes, yes. What about them?" McKay asked.

"When they indicated a sudden rise in Wraith activity last year, Chancellor Laikos ordered me to increase the strength of the shield" Norena replied, "Well, that's unfortunate" McKay said.

"Why?" Norena asked, "Because the Ancients didn't design these things to run continuously at maximum capacity" McKay replied. "Look, the shields are for emergencies only. When you shut down the alarms, you overrode the failsafes and that means that we're" I said, "Oh, no" McKay said.

"What is it?" Norena asked, "The reason the Ancients chose to power this facility on geothermal energy is because we're sitting right smack in the caldera of a dormant super volcano or should I say *formerly* dormant, because drawing all of this energy from the magma chamber has made it extremely *active*" McKay replied.

"So things are gonna get worse" John said, I think we can safely say that things are gonna get worse. Yes" McKay said, John radioed Weir saying that her and the Chancellor might wanted to come to control room.

As they came up, Weir went and looked out of the window, "I don't see any volcano" Weir said, "Because you're standing *inside* it right now. Look, when you think of regular volcanoes, you think Mount St Helens, or uh, Kilauea" McKay said.

"And super Volcano?" Weir asked, "Yellowstone National Park, with a caldera over fifty miles wide and a massive sea of molten rock just beneath the surface" I replied, "So the Ancients built the facility here in order to tap into all that geothermal energy" Weir said.

"Right and these things don't erupt very often. Thousands, oftentimes hundreds of thousands of years go by between blasts" McKay said, "So, the Ancients thought, what the hell, plenty of energy down there to run the shield?" John asked, "Yeah, but not continuously" I replied.

"By doing so, we've increased the pressure of the magma chamber" Norena said looking at Laikos, "It's expanded to over forty miles now and increasing" McKay said, "Can it be stopped?" Weir asked.

"No. The damage is already done. Look, a significant hotspot rift has opened. The pressure will keep building as magma continues pouring in directly beneath us" I replied. "Is there anything we can do to relieve the pressure somewhere else? Uh, maybe we can fire a drone down into the crust on the other side of the caldera" John said.

"Every problem has a military solution in your world, doesn't it? Look, when this baby goes, the whole thing goes" McKay said.

"Then we need to evacuate your people" John said, "Is there anywhere on this planet we can help relocate you to?" Weir asked, "Look, you're still not getting it. Listen to me, all of you. When this thing erupts, the force of the explosion will be over ten thousand times greater than the blast that destroyed Mount St Helens. It will obliterate half of this continent" McKay said.

"There must be other continents" Weir said, "The dust cloud will envelop the planet within weeks, blocking out enough sunlight to kill every living thing. We are talking about an Extinction Level Event" I said, "Look, the only option you've got is to evacuate your people to another planet, and I would advise doing it sooner rather than later" McKay said.

Laikos looked at us, than just said "Excuse me. What them carefully" and walked out, "Oh, I'm sorry, was my volume turned right now? Did he not hear me?" McKay said quite mad.

Weir left to go talk to Laikos; I stood there staring at John. What the hell are we going to do? I thought, Laikos isn't going to be too happy about moving his people to another planet even if it meant saving them.

The complex started to shake violently, I looked out of the window and saw several plumes of smoke burst from the ground, Weir and Laikos hurried in. "Is everyone alright?" Weir asked, "Nasty cut on his forehead" I replied standing by a technician.

"Reports of the wounded are coming in from the settlement" Norena said, I walked away from the technician after putting a dressing on his head, "I'll call Beckett, get him up here" John said, "You'd better make it quick. The last tremor opened a hydrothermal vent in the base. The ground is eroding beneath us" I said.

"You need to get your people off this planet now" John said to Laikos, "They can come to Atlantis. They'll be safe there. If we didn't answer your call for help, this would still be happening" Weir said.

"Chancellor, please listen to them" Norena said, he nodded and said "Alert the settlement. Tell our people to gather only their most precious possessions and come here quickly as possible. We'll begin evacuating immediately," "Good. Teyla, Ronon come in" Weir said.

As the Taranan began to arrive, Weir and Laikos went to go meet Teyla, Ronon and Beckett. They walked in, "Rodney?" Beckett asked, "Right here" McKay said pointing at the technician, "Gate's dialed. You're good to go" I said over the radio to Weir, "Alright. We'll see you on the other side. Please, make it quick" Weir replied.

"Sheppard, the first wave's on its way. How you doing with the next group?" I asked, "Keep the line moving" John replied as over the radio. The complex shook violently. By the gate, I saw people scream as the ground just in front of the gate started to erupt and smoke and steam billowed out. "Sheppard! Get those people back inside the facility! Atlantis, this is Wilson, raise the shield! I repeat raise the shield!" I yelled over the radio, "The Stargate" Norena said as we saw the gate fall forward and crashed to the ground and got covered with magma, "It's gone" McKay said.

John, Teyla and Ronon came running back in the control room, "What the hell happened?" John asked, "The Stargate, it was swallowed up by the magma" Beckett replied, "We are so screwed" McKay said, "You mean we're stuck here?" Ronon asked.

"If we have no way of contacting Atlantis" Teyla said, "We are totally screwed" McKay said, "Alright, hang on. Let's not panic" John said, "This facility has no means of direct subspace communication" I said.

"Will you just take it easy?" John asked looking at McKay knowing he was actually the one freaking out, "We're inside a soon to be erupting volcano!" McKay yelled, "Elizabeth will try to dial us back. When she can't get through, she'll send the Daedalus" John said, "Daedalus, right, that's good" McKay said, "Er, what if the volcano erupts before then?" I asked.

"The ship in the hangar, maybe McKay can fix it" John said, "Oh, maybe I can fix it! Place the pressure squarely on my shoulders for a change!" McKay yelled, "Well, I've discovered you're pretty good under the threat of impeding death! Plus, Alex is going to be helping you" John said, "I am, actually. Come on Alex" McKay said. We got down to the ship and started working.

"Ok and primary power is online" McKay said, "I wonder how many more ships like these exist" Teyla said, "A few more like this and we can give the Wraith a serious fight" Ronon said smiling, "Life support should be back up and running in a few minutes" I said, "Good. That's good" John replied, "I have, uh, discovered the ship's name. It's the, um, Hipapheralkus" I said, "The what?" John asked.

"Yeah, well, it appears to have been named after an Ancient general Hipapheralkus" McKay said "Well, we're not calling it that!" John said, "Oh good, then what about um" McKay said, "And we're not calling it the Enterprise either!" John said.

"I wasn't gonna say that! Look, for my second choice, though, I'd go with, um" McKay said, "how about we name it later?" I asked, "Fine" McKay and John both said at the same time, "Whatever its name, this ship is large enough to fit many people" Teyla said, "Could fit all the settlement if we had to" Ronon said.

"Let's hope we don't have to" John said, the radio came on and it was Caldwell but it was very distant and distorted, Caldwell said "Colonel Sheppard, this is the Daedalus." "Go ahead" John replied, but all we heard was static and John looked at me. "Signal's having trouble breaking through. We're gonna have to boost it. Can you get communications online?" he asked, "Right, I'm on it. Right, try it now" I replied, "Yes, sir, we're here. Where are you?" John asked.

"We've just arrived in orbit above Taranis. Where are you? We've scanned the base and found no life signs" Caldwell said, "Well, this part of the base must be, uh, shielded" McKay said, "I hear you could use some assistance?" Caldwell asked, "Well, the Stargate on this planet's been swallowed by lava and we're in a volcano that could erupt any second, so yeah, yeah, we could use a little help" John said.

"Get yourselves out in the open where we can get a lock on you" Caldwell said, "Well, sir, we promised to help these people. We're gonna need the Daedalus to evac them back to Atlantis" John said, "From the number of people that we're detecting, that's at least four trips" Caldwell, "But the Daedalus is quite large, surely you could fit more" Teyla said, "This is a spaceship, which means that our life support resources are finite. Four trips would already stretch those resources to the limit" Caldwell replied, "Do we have enough time for that?" John asked, "There's no way to know for sure. I mean, it'll be close" I replied.

"All the tremors have stopped" Ronon said, "For the moment" Teyla replied, "Alright, Beckett's on his way back to the settlement to treat the wounded. Teyla and Ronon can join him, organize people into groups that can be beamed aboard. In the meantime, McKay, Alex and I are going to stay here and continue our work on Plan B" John said, "No. No, no, no, no, we need to get out of here" McKay replied, "We can start the process, but if things get worse and the Daedalus can't get everyone off-world, we're gonna need another lifeboat" John replied.

"And Plan B is what?" Caldwell asked, "We've found a sister ship to the Aurora called the, um, Orion" John said smiling at McKay who grimaces and groans back at him, "McKay's trying to get the sub light drive online and Alex is helping so it should go faster" John replied, "Really? Well, a ship that large, you should be able to get everyone else out in one trip" Caldwell said, "Yeah, well, whether or not we live or die is all up to Rodney" John said, 'This is so unfair!" McKay said annoyed.

"Sounds like a plan, Colonel. Let's get to it" Caldwell said, as we worked, worked and worked on the ship, Norena looked at McKay. I didn't really understand what she liked about him but I could tell that she liked him but she also was checking out John as he came in and out of the control room of the ship. "I have already learned so much from you just in the last few hours. Perhaps one day I could study under you" she said, me and John were standing behind him and we looked at each other in disbelief.

"Uh, yes, well, I really, um, really look forward to that. But first, we need to, uh, get off. Uh, first we need to get off the planet, first we need to get off the planet, and then you can be under me" McKay said. As the complex shook, McKay ducked down under the console, leaving Norena to fend for herself as John held on to me. "Ok, that was a big one. That was a lot stronger than the last one" McKay said, he saw me and John gazing each other eyes and rolled his eyes. "You alright?" John asked, "I'm fine" I replied smiling. As McKay started to work on the ship again, me, Norena and John went up to the control room.

"Time to go" Norena said walking in, I walked to the window and saw a large lake of magma where the Stargate was, "It's getting a hell of a lot worse out there" I said, "That last tremor opened up many more fissures. We have a problem" Norena said, John radioed McKay, "Rodney, come in" John said, "Go ahead" he replied, "Looks like there's a lot of new vents opening up, a lot of ash going into the air. They're headed toward the settlement. We don't have time to wait for the Daedalus. How are those engines coming?" John said, "I'm not even close" he replied, "Well, then, I guess we're all gonna die" John said, "Oh, you're doing that on purpose!" McKay said, I smiled as Norena looked at John confused, but he gestured to her to stay quiet.

"What?" John asked, "You're creating an impossible task that my ego will force me to overcome" McKay replied, "Oh, yes, yes, that's exactly what I'm doing. It has nothing at all to do with saving the lives of these people. It's all about you" and John deliberately making his voice angry finish by saying "Now get your ass back to work and fix those damn engines!" John said. "He'll fix them! Trust us" I said looking at Norena. We left the room and Norena went back to the ship as me and John met up with Beckett.

We saw Beckett leading the refugees through the tunnels, "Good, good. Keep them coming. Where are Teyla and Ronon?" John asked, "Still back at the village gathering the rest of the people, then they'll be on their way" Beckett replied, "Good. Get these to the ship" John said, "Alright" he replied running off with them.

John was telling people to go straight down to the hanger and I was helping as the complex started to shake as another earthquake began. "Don't panic!" I said as we ushered people forward, McKay radioed us.

"Sheppard" he said, "What?" John asked, "I just got the atmospheric sensors online. I'm reading dangerously high levels of sulphur dioxide spewing into the air from dozens of fumaroles. Look, it is rapidly becoming toxic out there. Make sure you get people to stick to the tunnels" McKay replied, "We'll pass the word. How about those engines?" John asked, "I'm still working on that" McKay replied, "Keep me updated" John said, "Teyla, Ronon" I said over the radio, "Yes?" Teyla asked, "We've got toxic gas venting into the atmosphere" I replied, "Yes. It has already made its way here" she said, "Get everyone into the tunnel underneath the settlement ASAP" John said, "They are heading your way. Ronon has found one remaining family at the edge of the village. He is returning and then we will go" Teyla said.

We went back to the ship and talked to McKay, it turns out that two large fissures opened up near the base and the lave was flowing on the hangar above us. McKay wasn't sure about the door holding and John left real quick to check on everything than came back. "Time for a military solution" John said, "For which problem?" McKay asked, "We've got an armory full of drones on board. Maybe we can blast through the hangar door" John replied, "The hangar door is directly above us. The molten lava would destroy the ship" I said, "Not if I can get the shields operational" McKay said, "Tell me you can do that" John said.

"I can do that. Once they're operational, we'll be able to provide enough protection to" McKay said, "To what?" John asked, "Talk amongst yourselves" McKay said, "What are you doing?" I asked, "I have an idea" McKay replied.

"What kind of idea?" John asked, "Can't talk, busy" McKay replied, "Just give me a basic" John said, "Not now, please" McKay said, "I hate it when he does this" John said grunting angrily.

John checked with Beckett and found out that Teyla and Ronon hadn't showed up when it shouldn't have taken them long to get to the ship from where they were. As we tried to get hold of them then not having any luck. We went looking for them and found a group of people trying to get to the hangar. Two men were about to reach for the door. "Stop it! The door's probably hot. You don't want touch it. Let's try this way", "Ok, not that way either. McKay come in" John said, as the door closed before we can reach it.

"Go ahead" McKay said, "I've run into the last group of villagers. I'm trying to get them back to the ship. Looks like the base is going into emergency lockdown. We've got doors sealing off everywhere. We could really use some help trying to find another way back" John replied, "Alright. I'll have Norena call up the base schematics to see if she can" McKay said as we got cut off from them and we couldn't reach them, John wasn't very happy. I whispered to John saying that I started to smell sulphur dioxide and we told the group to stay calm and not to take too many deep breaths.

We came to a dead end but lucky there was door there, we hoped that it was the door to the hangar. John and two men forced the door and we saw the ship so we started to run toward it. "Alright, tell the people to get on the floor and secure themselves. I think the eruption is imminent. We're just about ready" McKay said as me and John came in, "Ready for what?" John asked.

"Oh, thank god!" Beckett said, "What took you so long?" McKay asked, "Just about ready for what?" John asked again. "To active the shields" McKay replied, "You should the blast from the eruption would wipe out half the continent" I said.

"It will, and after four point one seconds of those extreme temperature and pressures, our shields will be depleted" McKay said, "Well, as much as I'm all for living for another four seconds" John said, "That's not very much time for anything, Rodney" Beckett said, "it's plenty of time to open a hyperspace window" McKay said, we stared at him blankly, "What? That's my plan. Didn't I tell you about that?" McKay asked, "No" I replied, "No, you didn't" John said, "Well, you were too busy running around looking for people" McKay said, "Well, tell us the damn plan!" I said.

"Fixing the sub light engines was impossible in the amount of time we had left. They were just too badly damaged, but I devise a sort of a patch that in effect diverts auxiliary power to the hyperdrive. Only enough for a fraction of a second, mind you" McKay said, "That won't get us very far" John said, "We don't need to go far. Any old orbit will do" McKay said. "Then what?" I asked, Well, then, Norena and I were planning a small dinner for us all, nothing fancy" McKay replied, "Rodney" Norena said, "Well, what does she mean, then what? Then we won't die horribly!" McKay said, "So your plan is not to blow a hole in the hangar but to sit here and wait for this cataclysmic eruption to take place" John said, "With the shields and inertial dampeners at full strength, yes" McKay replied.

"I think I may be missing something. Correct me if I'm wrong, but when the volcano erupts, don't we as well?" Beckett asked, "That's the plan" McKay said as he clicked his finger at Carson, "That's the plan?" John asked.

"That's the plan!" McKay replied, "That plan sucks!" John yelled, me and Beckett agreed, "This will be ejected along with the magma and steam several thousand feet into the air" McKay said, "The ship can survive that?" John asked, "For exactly four point one seconds, yes. Look, the hangar should disintegrate. The moment we're clear, we open a brief hyperspace window, jump to space before the explosion depletes our shields and incinerates us, hmm?" McKay replied, "Ok" John said nervously, "What?" McKay asked as Norena and I smiled at him, "Very clever, Rodney" I replied, "Hmm. Well, don't thank me until it works, which it probably won't. Excuse me" McKay said.

We watched as Rodney worked, we were squatting and watching, and McKay cried out in pain, "What?" Norena asked, "Oh! I bent my fingernail back! I hate that!" he replied, "Yes, that can be painful" Norena said, "Yeah, will you look at that?" he said, "Are you done?" John asked, "Almost. Look, does anyone have nail clippers?" McKay asked, "McKay!" I said. John smacked his leg. He told us everything was ready to go, so we started to run to the bridge.

"Where's the PA?" John asked, "Arm of the chair" I said, "Alright, folks, all chairs and seat backs into your upright and locked positions" John said looking surprised at the area around the chair lights up as he sits in it. Beckett, who kept getting beat to all the chairs, ran to another chair. "Don't hold your breath. It could happen any time in the next half an hour" I said.

We feel the complex start to shake and then we all look out the window and see that we have arrived safely I space, we were so happy that we made it. The Daedalus who had been sitting in space waited for the eruption to take place and they had beamed Teyla and Ronon on board.

"The explosion was every bit as destructive as I feared. The ash cloud has encircled the entire planet" I said, "Will the Taranan people ever be able to go home?" Teyla asked, "Not for many years, I'm afraid" Beckett said, "We found a planet that Chancellor Laikos feels is suitable for them. We've already started relocating the people there. I'd like you and your team to assist them, just to make sure the relocation goes smoothly" Weir said looking at John.

"I'll take a repair team back to the Orion, get the engines fixed" McKay said, "I thought you told Norena you couldn't fix it" John said, "It was never a question of whether or not I could fix it; It" McKay said, "Well, as quickly as you can Rodney. The Chancellor has graciously allowed us to use the ship in exchange for our help" Weir said, "I assume there's still a hive ship on the way?" Caldwell asked, "Yes" Zelenka replied, "Why only one ship?" I asked, "We don't know. Maybe they're just coming to prove we're still here, but if they manage to do that" Weir said.

"Well, at least, we've got the Orion now, and the city's supply of drones has been replenished" Caldwell said, "It's enough to put up a hell of a fight" John said, "Let's not fool ourselves. If they come in full-force and there is no reason to believe that they won't this time, then I'm sorry but" I said, "It's not gonna be enough" Weir said, "It's all we've got" I said.

I headed to bed, the day had be way to long for my liking, John on the other hand went to help the Taranan people get settled on their new planet. Looking back on the day, it was crazy how some people could assume that we would just use them for a ship but then again, they didn't know us very well. I was pretty sure we proved ourselves worthy of their trust!

The night was nice, warm and pretty. That was would it was usually but still it was nice to sit outside and breath in the fresh warm air.


	16. Chapter 17 All Things Change

Chapter 1 He didn't want to speak to me

Things were going great, we had gotta back to Earth. First we had the meeting then we could all go see family members if we wanted to. I wanted to go see my dad and my brother; they live in Colorado Springs so me and John over down. We got to my dad's house and at first I didn't know if I could get out of the car.

John looked at me, "What's wrong?" he asked, "Nothing, I just don't know what to say" I replied, "I'm sure, you can think of something" he said. John talked me to getting out of the car; I hopped out and started walking up to the door.

I was about to knock when my dad opened the door and hugged me. I smiled and started crying, it was so great to see my dad again. We just sat there, talking about random things that we didn't really care about. Then my dad looked at John, "So who is this fellow?" he asked.

"This is Lieutent Colonel John Sheppard, he's my boyfriend" I replied, "Nice to meet you, sir" John said.

"I'm not a sir, so you can call me David" my dad said, "Sorry David. Nice to meet you" John replied.

"Nice to meet you too. You must be a smart, tough man to be able to handle my girl" My dad said.

"I'm very lucky to be with Alexurda" John said, "Alex, john. Not Alexurda" I said. I always hated it when people call me Alexurda, for as long as I can remember I've been called Alex. I figured John was just doing it for my dad, even though my dad never had a problem with me being called Alex.

We spent a couple of hours with my dad, Jason came home but he didn't even look at me or talk to me. He didn't want to speak to me. I and John left to go back to the base; we ate dinner at black bear cafe. I just sat there in our room on the base thinking about how Jason didn't even want to look at me.

I was trying to figure out what I had done that was so bad where my own twin brother didn't want to talk to me. John thought I was just been a drama queen about it but I wasn't. My brother didn't want to look or talk to me. I couldn't find anything that I had done that was so bad.

I was the only sibling he had, we grew up together, went through hard times together. We were there for each other, every step of the way but now he wasn't there for me. My dad was but I wanted Jason to be there for me too. A week passed way to quickly, so then next thing I knew we were getting back on the ship to go back to Atlantis.

I couldn't wait to see that blue ocean and the city again. A month just stuck on the ship was going to be hell for me. John had new men to train during the time we spent on the Deadulas. I spent most of my time with McKay and Zelenka.

One night, me and John couldn't sleep so we went to the mess hall, Weir was there.

"Hey, what are you doing up so late?" Weir asked, "Couldn't sleep. Must be the, uh, burden of command- you know, ever since I was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel" John replied.

"Alright, John. It's been almost a month. When are you going to stop trying to bringing that up in every single conversation?" I asked.

"You two gotta understand. There are a lot of people in the Air Force who never thought I'd make it past Captain!" John replied.

"Well obviously the people whose opinions matter the most thought otherwise" Weir said, "What about you, what are you still doing up?" John asked.

"I think I got used to falling asleep to the sound of the ocean" Weir replied.

"Well, McKay says we're only at the edge of the Pegasus galaxy. You'll be fine once we get back to Atlantis. You know, it's funny. I spent the past year wondering if I'd ever see earth again and as soon as I got there" I said.

"I know how you feel. It was extremely convenient to be able to step through the gate and be at Stargate Command in an instant, and now this feels extremely in convenient" Weir replied.

"It must be the eighteen days cooped up in the ship to get back" I said, "Well until we find another ZPM to power the Earth gate, that's just the way it's gonna have to be" John said.

"Doctor Weir, Colonel Sheppard, Mss. Wilson. There's been an accident" one the airman said.

Me, John and Weir arrived at where Carson was bending over a man laying on the floor, "That's Doctor Monroe. What happened?" I asked.

"I don't know, but he's dead. Alright, one, two, three. Carry on." Beckett said, "How did he die?" Caldwell asked.

"I'm not a hundred percent certain, but there were burn marks on his fingertips" Beckett replied.

"Obviously there was a short. Doors open, circuits are charred" John said, "There's not enough juice in those circuits to kill anyone. Doctor?" Caldwell said.

"I'll know more once I've had a chance to examine the body more thoroughly" Beckett replied, "Do you know what he was working on?" Weir asked.

"It was computer diagnostics, strictly routine. I've got security camera footage" McKay said, "What happened?" Weir asked.

"I don't know, it's a camera malfunction" McKay said as he played the footage again, we see Monroe sitting at the console, getting up to work on another part. He reaches over to touch a panel and then the footage goes statically.

"Right before he was killed? Interesting coincidence" John said.

"Actually, I think it makes sense. Colonel Caldwell was right, there's not enough 'juice' in those circuits to kill someone, at least not normally" I said.

"What are you thinking?" Weir asked, "It's possible there was some sort of isolated power surge in this section. That would explain the lost camera, the malfunctioning door" I replied.

"So, when the door didn't respond, he took out the panel to bypass the circuits and received a fatal jolt?" Caldwell asked.

"Like she said, it's possible. Look, I recommend we drop out of hyperspace, run a full diagnostic on the power distribution systems" McKay replied.

"No, if we drop out now, we risk being detected" Caldwell said, "That's true. I just think if we" McKay said.

"We'll be back in Atlantis in less than two days. You can do your diagnostic then" Caldwell said interrupting.

"Colonel, are you sure that's right?" Weir asked, "With all due respect, Doctor, you got back to Earth through the Stargate. This is my third trip on the Deadulas between galaxies" Caldwell replied.

"I understand that, but this ship is relatively new. There might be some problems..."Weir was saying.

"Doctor. A word please?" Caldwell interrupting. Caldwell wanted me to go help McKay and Hermiod in Engineering.

"If I may be so bold, what exactly are we looking for?" Hermiod asked, "Any indication that somebody's been tampering with the ship's computers" McKay replied.

"Perhaps you could be more specific" Hermiod said, "Not really, no" McKay said, "What was that?" I asked.

"Nothing" Hermiod replied, "Look, just check the major systems, propulsion, navigation, life support. Look for anything out of the ordinary. Once we've checked out the power distribution system, maybe we can figure out what caused the power spike" McKay said.

John walked in, "How's it going, Alex?" John asked, "It's going to take a while" Hermiod replied, John was staring at him, "Don't stare, he hates it when people stare" I said.

"Am I the only one who thinks it's strange we're working with an alien?" John asked, "Intergalactic hyperdrive technology's kind of new to us, so we need his help" I replied.

"Is he supposed to be naked like that?" John asked, I roll my eyes at him and look at the technician working nearby us.

McKay looks at me and makes me and Lindstrom leave the room, "Ok, let's speed this up, you take the logs and I'm gonna take a look at...junction box. I got nothing you?" I asked.

"Uh, give me a second...wait a minute" Lindstrom repiled, "What?" I asked, "I think I got something here" Lindstrom replied.

"Well, what?" I asked, at the moment, alarms sound and coolant starts spraying from the ceiling. "Coolant leak! We've gotta get out of here" Lindstrom yells but then cries out in pain as he is burnt.

"Lindstrom! Lindstrom! Lindstrom! Are you alight?" I asked, I see him and he's coughing. I had activated the combs to the compartment.

"Yeah, I'm ok. How am I going to get out of here?" he asked, "I don't know. Just sit tight. We're going to need to shut down the leak and vent the" I was saying. "Alex?" Lustrum asked.

I can still see Lindstrom but I can't hear him anymore, "Lindstrom! Lindstrom, are you reading me? Lindstrom! Are you reading me?" I asked over and over again. I finally see that he's in an airlock and the alarms sound saying that it was opening.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked, "Alex, help me!" Lindstrom yelled, "Lindstrom! Lindstrom!" I yelled as I stare in horror as lindstrom silently screams Alex, help me.

I see the airlock doors open and linstrom blown into space, "Oh my god!" I said. Beckett, John, Weir and Caldwell arrived.

Beckett has me holding an oxygen mask to my face, I lower it. "I already told you, I'm fine" I said, "She's right, it appear he didn't inhale enough toxins to cause any permanent damage, although a few more seconds of exposure would have been quite a different story" Beckett said.

"Thank you, Doctor. I assume this time we can definitely rule out random malfunctions?" Caldwell asked, "Lindstrom found something, he was trying to tell me what is when the leak happened" I replied.

"What were you looking for?" Weir asked, "We were trying to trace the source of the power spike that killed Doctor Monroe" I replied.

"Who else knew what we're doing?" Caldwell asked, "A lot of people knew we were running diagnostics but no one knew we were in that particular room at that exact moment" I replied.

"Security cameras. If the person who killed Monroe was able to get into the system to erase evidence, there's no reason he couldn't do the same thing to keep tabs on our investigation" John said.

"Assuming it's a he" I said, "How many personal on board have the technical skills to do something like this?" Caldwell asked.

"Almost everybody! That's what you get for assembling a team of brilliant scientists" I repiled, "I can't believe it would be one of own people, isn't it possible there's an intruder on board?" Weir asked.

"We used the lifesigns detctor to do a head count. We didn't get any extra singals" Caldwell repiled.

"Well, hibernating Wraith, they can avoid detection" Weir repiled, "We've seen that tactic before. Beam in, lay own, then look for the chance to cnoduct sabotage" John said.

"That was on Atlantis. It's been at least two months since this ship encountered the Wraith. There's no way one of them could have stowed on board for that long" Caldwell repiled.

"He's right. They did a full dcontamination sweep back on Earth. They would have found something" I said.

"Alright then. As of this moment I want our civilian personnel confined to their quarters" Caldwell said.

"What?" Weir said, "Persent company excepted, of course" Caldwell repiled, "Uh, Colonel, with all due respect, some of those people could be extremely helpful in the investigation" I said.

"I'm sorry, Wilson, but I can't trust any of them for the simple reason that I didn't have any say in thier selection. Somebody else was in charge of the process" Caldwell said. Me and Hermiod were still working on what had happened, when McKay walked in.

"Doctor McKay. You are just in time" Hermiod said, "For what? What are you looking at?" McKay asked.

"The sabotage we've been searching for" I said, "It's a virus" McKay said, "How perceptive of you" Hermiod repiled.

"Where did you find it?" McKay asked, "One of the navigational computers. There is evidence of it in communications and some of the propulsion systems as well" I said.

"So it's spreading" McKay said, "Yes, and changing" Hermiod repiled, "what do you mean?" McKay asked.

"It appears to be rewriting itself as it grows. It is unlike any human-engineered programme I have ever encountered" Hermiod repiled.

"Really? Clear the console, I need to be there" McKay said, "What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm just checking something. I'm sure it is impossible. Crap!" McKay said, "What did you do?" Hermiod asked.

"I just ran it through a translation programme, it's Wraith" McKay repiled, "Crap' indeed" Hermiod repiled.

Me and McKay went to go explain what we had found to everybody else, "A wraith computer vrius" Weir said.

"It was probably downloaded during our last little encounter" McKay said, "Well, if it's been there all this time, why are we just noticing it now?" Caldwell asked.

"Well, in all likelihood it was transmitted in a compressed format, it took a while to unfold, to spread to the point where it could affect our systems. I think it probably happened during the return flight to Earth. Since then, it's been dormant, waiting for some kind of a trigger" I said.

"Like what?" John asked, "Possibly the fact that we're once again in close proximity to Wraith territory? I think it was ultimately desigened to take control of the navigational system, fly the ship right to them" I said.

"If they get their hands on the Daedalus, they'll not only have access to the intergalactic hyperdrive technology but they'll have all the navigation data that'll lead them straight to Earth" Weir repiled.

"That's what they wanted all along. A new feeding ground" I said, "That still doesn't explain who killed Doctor Monroe and Doctor Lindstrom" Caldwell repiled.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you. It was the virus" McKay said, "Look, it's an A.I, an artificial intelligence. It can think for itself, adapt itself to new situations" I said.

"Protect itself" John said, "Ecactly. It knew that Lindstrom and Monroe were gonna expose it, so it got rid of them" Mckay said.

"Can it take over the whole ship?" Weir asked.

"Not entriely. You have to remeber that there are hundreds of individual computers on board. A lot of them are interconnected so we tend to think of them as one big machine but that's not really the case. There are dozens of back-ups and redundancies, and some systems like life support are deliberately isolated" I said.

"So they can't kill us all by venting the atmosphere?" John asked.

"That was the good news. The bad news is that some of the more complez systems like navigation and propuslsion require a certain amount of interconnectivty to function properly. In all likelihood, the vrius has spread so far through those systems that to isolate it will make the ship impossible to fly. Until we figure out how to get rid of it, we're stuck here" I said.

An alarm starts beeping, "Colonel Caldwell, sir. We just began broadcasting a distress call" the bridge lieutenant said, "What are you talking about?" Caldwell asked.

"It just came on by itself, sir" he repiled, "Shut it down" Caldwell said, "I'm locked out, sir" he said.

"It's the virus. That's what I mean about adapting itself to new situations. It doesn't have enough control yet to fly us to the Wraith so instead it's calling the Wraith to us and right now, we are sitting ducks" McKay said.

Me and McKay were working on stopping the virus when John came over to me, "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Theroetically we should be able to cut power to the long range transmitter. You won't be able to send messages, but, uh neither will the virus" McKay said.

"Theiretucally" John said, "Well, it's pretty smart. So far, whatever we've tried, it's been one step ahead of us. Try it now" I said.

"It's no good, sir. We're still broadcasting" the Lieutenant said, "Alright, that leaves us one choice. We need to do a full systems shutdown. We'll wipe everything, reboot, load from back-ups" McKay said.

"WIll that really work?" Weir asked, "Absolutely...I think" McKay repiled, "How long will it take?" Caldwell asked.

"Well it's not like the ship's got an on/off button" McKay repiled, "We need some time to prepare, say an hour,, maybe two?" I said.

"And while we wait, we increase our chances of being detected. We need to shut off the transimmter array now" John repiled, "do you have an idea?" Caldwell asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do...But you're not gonna like it" John said looking at me as he said the last part.

Of course Johns plan was taking a F-302 out to shoot the Array. "Alright, Colonel, we've evacuated all sections in the vicinity of the array and sealed the bulkheads" Caldwell said.

"Understood" John repiled, "All personnel, prepare fro impact" Caldwell said, "What's our status?" I asked.

"Transmitter is offline. Distress singal has been disabled" the bridge lieutenant repiled, "Well done, Colonel. Return to the ship" Caldwell said.

"With pleasure. Uh, there's a problem. My controls aren't responding" John repiled, "Say again?" Caldwell said.

"Well, the Daedalus is behind me. I can't seem to turn around and..a lot more, we've picking up speed" John repiled.

"I should have seen this coming. The navigational software on the F-302 is compatible with our sublight system which has already been infected. The virus must have uploaded itself onto his ship" I said.

"What about the transport beam?" Weir asked, "That would work. Those systems are still clean" McKay repiled.

"Do it" Caldwell said, "John, this is Elizabeth. Rodney seems to think the virus has taken over your ship, so we're gonna try to beam you out" Weir said.

"Acknowledged" John said, "Stand by" Weir said, "Uh, small problem" McKay said, "What?" I asked.

"THe transport beam is tied to an Asgard sensor. It's what we use to lock on to targets" McKay said.

"So?" Weir asked, "So, so, that particular piece of equipment was located in the array that we just destroyed. The key is to lock onto his radio singal" McKay repiled.

"That's what they used to do on the Prometheus before they had Asgard sensors" I said, "You'd better do it quick, becuase in about three minutes he's gonna be out of range" Caldwell repiled.

"John, we've run into a slight snag. Rodney and I just has to make a few adjustments before we can get you out of there" I said.

"Ok" John repiled nervously, "Don't worry, we're not about to give up on you just yet" Weir said.

"Colonel? John, are you still there?" I asked, "Uh.."John said, "We're gonna use your radio to target the transport beam" Weir said.

"We'll have you out of there in just a minute" I said, "Sounds good. So I'm still in range, right?" John asked.

McKay turns off his radio and turns to Weir, "Truth is, this has never been tested from this distance" McKay said.

"Rodney seems to think you'll be ok" Weir said, "Well that's good" John repiled.

"We're ready. We're beaming him directly to the bridge" McKay said, I turn to face the front of the bridge and see John appear.

"Are you aliright?" I asked, "Yeah. Two arms, tenn fingers...I'll check the rest later" John said, "Alright, Doctor, I've had enough of this. I'd like to have my ship back, please" Caldwell said.

"Move! Yes. Do you mind?" McKay said almost bumping into John, "This is what I do when I have problems with my laptop. I turn it off, and then I turn it on again" John said.

"I think this is a little bit more complicated than that" I said, "I'm just saying that if we're taking a page from the John Sheppard Book of Computer Repair, we're really desperate" John repiled.

"Alright, Colonel, we're ready" McKay said, "Thank you. All personnel, this is Colonel Caldwell. Prepare for a full system shutdown" Caldwell said.

"And..."McKay said, as we shut down all the consloes and the ship goes dark.

"Engine room, what's our status?" Caldwell asked, "All systems are functioning normally. No sign of the virus" I said, "Looks like it worked, Colonel" McKay repiled.

"May I suggest we vacate this system? Our current position may well have been compromised" Hermiod said, "Can you give me hyperdrive?" Caldwell asked.

"That will take longer to get back online" Hermiod said, "I can get you sublights" I said.

"Damnit!" McKay said, as soon as Caldwell reported that we were going to wrong away, "Engine room, What's happening?" Caldwell asked.

"the virus, its back. IT must haev full control of sublight navigation" I said, "I thought all systems were clean" John said.]

"They were. When we did the reboot there was no sign of the virus. This shouldn't be happening" I said.

"Sir, we've got another problem. IT's our new heading, we're on a collision course with the nearest star" the Pilot said. John and Weir stayed in the Engine room as me and McKay worked on getting rid of the virus. I didn't understand the coding of the vrius so haking into it wasn't going to work.

"THe virus returned almost immediately after we restarted the system" Hermiod said, "At the risk of repeating myself, I thought you said we wiped it out" John said.

"We did. We must have missed something" McKay said, "And it's gonna crash us into a sun" Weir said.

"Not exactly. A more precise calculation of our heading shows that we will not collide with the star, but rather make a close approach near its coronashphere. The ship will survive, but the radiation will kill everyone on board" Hermiod said.

"Why kill everyone if they already have full navigational control?" Weir asked, "The virus has access to our database. It knows our tactis, our tendencies" I said.

"They know we'd destroy the ship before we'd allow it to fall into wraith hands" John said.

"Wait a minute. There was a situation similar to this back at Stargate Command. I remeber reading the report. An alien entity took control of the base computer, so they did a systems shutdown to destroy it. It survived by uploading itself into a MALP" I said.

"OK, we don't have any MALPs" Weir repiled, "No, we've got a bay full of F-302s. We already know the virus can upload itself into the ship's navigational computer, but it have used any one of those ships as a hiding place while we wiped the Daedalus systems clear. It's the only possible explanation" McKay said.

"So?" Weir asked, "So, we physically pull the memory strage modules from the 302s, we do another shutdown, that should do the trick" I said. "Contat the bridge and tell Caldwell we're on our way to the bay now" John said as I followed them.

Me, John and McKay make our way to the figher bay and we reach the access door and it closes in front of us. I pushed the button but nothing happened.

"It's not working" McKay said, "Lets try another way" John repiled, the another door we try closes too, "It's the virus, it must know what we're trying to do" I said.

"How's that possible?" John asked, "It's thinking ahead, anticipating our moves, like in a chess match" McKay repiled, "Well, I hope you're good at chess" John said.

"I don't get to play much, it's tough finding challenging opponents" McKay repiled, "Bridge, this is Sheppard. Are there any open pahts to the 302 bay?" John asked.

"That's a negative, Colonel. Looks like the entire section's been sealed off. We've tried to override it but we're not having any luck" Caldwell repiled.

"You're gonna have to beam us in" John said, "Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa. Wait a minute. The asgard beam wasn't designed to beam from one point to another point inside a ship. We could end up rematerialised half inside a wall" McKay said.

"Well, we're just gonna have to take that chance" I said, "Right! Of course! Why not?" McKay said.

Me and John steps next to McKy and he scruches himself down to make himself as small as possible. "Colonel, we're ready" John said.

"Stand by. Hermiod says we need to make a few adjustments first. Activiating transport beam now" Caldwell said.

"It worked!" McKay said, we walk forward and the alarms sound. Lights by the bay doors which exit into space start to flash.

"Oh boy!" I said, we stand there waiting for death to us but nothing happens, "We should really really be dead right now" McKay said.

"I don't feel dead" John said, "Colonel Sheppard, Doctor McKay, can you hear me?" Hermiod asked, "Yeah, we're reading you" John repiled.

"I have raised the figher bay shield in order to prevent the atmoshpere from escaping. However, the virus has invaded the system and it is only a matter of time before it gains control. Therefore, I suggest you complete your task as quickly as possible" Hermiod said.

We all run around pulling the modules, John was in one, McKay was in one and I saw one that no one had got so I got it. "Colonel Sheppard, how's it coming?" Caldwell asked, "We're getting there" John said. As we see the shields start to go down, I jump into a figher. I see John and McKay jump into one at the same time too. I sighed knowing that John was still alive.

"Colonel Sheppard, come in...Colonel Sheppard, do you read me?...Colonel Sheppard, do you read?" Caldwell asked, "This is Sheppard, we're OK. We managed to get into the last two F-302 before we lost atmosphere. Any chance you can beam us out?" John asked.

"Sorry, John, we lost the transport beam. You're gonna have to sit still for a while" Weir said, "We pulled all the memory units. Another shutdown should work" I said.

I look over at John's 302 and smiled at him, he rolled his eyes and pointed at McKay, I laughed a little knowing that I would do the same if I was stuck in the same fighter plane as McKay. The lights go out and I started freaking out but I calm down knowing I told them to do another shut down. The lights come back on and I hear John's voice.

"This is Sheppard, what just happened?" John asked, "Stand by, we're trying to figure that out. It didn't work. We're still on course for the coronashpere" Caldwell said, "this thing is like a damned cockroach, you just can't kill it!" John said.

:This should have worked. We've disabled every navigational computer in this bay. There's nowhere else on the ship the virus could hide" McKay said.

"You're right, there's nwhere on the ship for it to hide, but we didn't get every computer" John repiled, "What are you talking about?" McKay asked.

"We missed one" John said, I think and then get what John was talking about, It was the F-302 he was flying eariler. I see John starting up the 302 him and McKay are sitting in and I radio over to him.

"John, what are you doing?" I asked, "It's the last F-302, Alex. THe one we left behind, and it's driving us" John said.

"You can't go after it" I said, "I'll be fine. I love you just in case anything happens know that I do love you and I have always loved you" John said signing off the radio as he flew the 302 out of the bay.

I didn't know what was going on, no one from the other parts of the bridge had radioed me and told me what was going on with John and McKay. I wanted to scream and cuss at someone for letting John do this but then I thought about everything I've learned about him and knew he would have done it one way or another.

About 20 minutes or so after John left, I heard Weirs voice over the radio, "John, can you read me?...Rodney, come in?" Weir asked.

"Daedalus, this is Sheppard, target is destroyed. I repeat, traget is destroyed. If you try one more shutdown, I think it might just work" John said.

"Well done, both of you. You had us a little worried there for a minute" Weir said, "Sorry about that" John said, "This is caldwell, we'll redezvous as soon as we've eradicated the virus once and for all" Caldwell said.

After finally getting the shields back up in the figher bay, I got out of the 302 that I jumped in when the shields went down and started walking towards the door. I see the door start to open and John walks in. He runs up to me and hugs me.

I was so happy to be back in his arms, we went back to the room we had and fell asleep for the rest of the day and the most of the next day. We finally got to Atlantis and we walked up to Teyla, who had be in charged of the city while we were all gone.

"Doctor Weir, Doctor McKay, Doctor Beckett, Doctor Wilson, welcome back and Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard! Congratulations" Teyla said.

"Thank you. Anything happen while we were gone?" John asked, "There has been no sign of the Wraith. It would appear that they continue to believe that Atlantis has been destroyed, but I understand that your trop was not so happily uneventful" Teyla said.

"No, not exactly" Weir said, "My nose is peeling! Do you have any sunshield?" McKay asked Beckett, "Yes Rodney" Beckett repiled, "Well, maybe we should get that" McKay said, "Yes, Rodney!" Beckett said.

"Any word from your offworld contacts?" John asked, "We have received several intelligence reports. However, as of yet there is no news of Lieutenant Ford" Teyla said.

"I'd like to read those reports when you've got moment" John said, "I thought you might, I prepard you this copy" Teyla said.

"Thank you! Ladies" John said as he heads off, "I am sorry your journey was so difficult" Teyla said, "Well, we got here, that's what counts" Weir said.

"Still, it must have been plesant to return to Earth. A chance to reunite with your friends and loved ones" Teyla said. Redek hurries over to us, "Doctor Weir. Doctor Weir, I'm glad you're back. We have several reports from around the city. Ever since we installed ZeePM, we've made many interesting discoveries" Zelenka said as he goes to hand her his report but me and Teyla stop him.

"Could this not wait? Doctor Weir has only just arrived" Teyla said, "I'm sorry, I.." he said, "No, That's fine, really" Weir said taking the report. Things started to get normal again, I started working with Major Lorne who I had met in school and hadn't seen him in years. I senced that John was a bit jealus of mine and Evan's relationship. I had sat down with John and talked to him about it, I made sure he knew he was the only one I wanted to be with.

Chapter 20 He was so close

Doctor Parrish wanted me to come with him to this planet that could have new things to see. As much as I wanted to say no, John said it would be a good thing to get out of the city and go offworld.

It was me, Lorne and Parrish, "You know, when they told me I'd be travelling to another galaxy, visiting strange new worlds, defending humanity against unimaginable alien threats, this just is not what I pictured!" Lorne said, I laughed a bit as Lorne tried to trip me.

"We could be saving Earth, right here, right now, Major" Parrish said "Oh yeah? Hows's that?" Lorne asked, "Through a greater understanding of the long-term effects of severe ozone depletion on plant life. You may not want to admit it, but i'ts a real dange" Parrish said.

"Oh yeah! Sure! Global warming- Wraith attack. I see the similarity now, you're right! Yeah, its great!" Hey, not too far, Doct, OK?" Lorne said.

"Ah, not to worry, Major. I don't think there's much chance any animal could survive the long-term effects of exposure to the sunlight on this planet" Parrish repiled, "So not a place to build a summer home?" Lorne asked.

I laughed and tried to trip Evan, I looked over at him and smiled. I saw Parrish out of the coner of my eye looking at some planet. "Ah! It's the fact this vegetation is thriving! Somehow it's managed to persist despite what should be extremely destructive ionising radiation. Oh, would you look at that? Now what is a williamsonia suardiana doing here?" Parrish asked.

I started laughing but followed Parrish as Lorne stayed back a little, I was a little bit in front of Parrish when I saw something on the ground, "Major!" I yelled as I finally noisted what it was, it was a death Wraith. Evan squats down to check the Wraith out as we see bullet holes in him.

"Doesn't look like the sun killed him" Lorne said, "What do we do?" Parrish asked, "Kaufman, this is Lorne, any activity?" Lorne asked, "No, Sir" Kaufman repiled.

"We got a dead sucker here, looks KIA, no more than a day old. We're on our way" Lorne said, "C'mon, Doc, let's get you back to the Gate" I said.

"I-I don't understand" parrish said, "Well, neither do I. All I know is he didn't do that to himself. C'mon. Let's go" I said.

Me and Lorne were reporting to John and Weir, "Is the Gate covered?" John asked, "Kaufman and Reed, yeah" Lorne repiled.

"We found a dead Wraith. Shot several times" John said, as Teyla entered, "Looked like bullets, but it's hard to say. The guy was a mess" Lorne said.

"The Genii have such weapons" Teyla said, "Doctor Beckett is performing an autopsy. Oh! Here he is now" Weir repiled.

"I'm not done, not nearly, but I thought you might like to know this. The enzyme sac under the right arm has been removed" Beckett said.

"Ford!" John said, "What's going on?" McKay asked, "Thanks for coming, Rodney" John repiled sarcastically.

"What? I was right in the middle of a.." McKay said, "P3M-736. We found a dead Wraith, maybe killed by Ford" I said, "He could still be there" John repiled.

"Whoa, wait a second. 736? The UV index there during the day is something like a thousand" McKay said, "Bring your sunscreen. Be ready in ten minutes" John repiled. I laught but followed John, he walked so fast that it was hard to keep up but thank god, i've been working out lately because then I won't be able to catch up to him in time.

"John, I'm going back with you" I said, "No, your not" he repiled "Why not?" I asked, Because Fords not himself right now and I don't need you getting hurt, Alex" John repiled.

"John I need to go too. I knew Ford a long time, it might help to have me there" I said, "No, Alex. Thats the end of the story, I can't and won't let you get hurt because of him" he repiled as strong minded about it as anything he has ever set his mind too. Just as I was about to say something more about it, Caldwell walked up and started talking to John.

"Colonel!" Caldwell said, "Colonel" John repiled, "Something urgent?" he asked, "We think we have a bead on Ford" John repiled, "So I heard" he said.

"That was fast" John said, "Base protocol dictates all senior officers be notified of situations Code Orange and above" Caldwell repiled, me and John walked in the transporter and John presses a button on the panel. Caldwell jumped in right before the door closed.

"How does that go again? Red, Orange, Blue or the other way around? You mind if we go over that again when I get back?" John asked.

"Colonel!" Caldwell yelled, "You don't have to remind me of our respective positions or that you outrank me, sir" John said, "I was wondering if I needed to remind you that LIeutenant Ford is a significant threat to the security of this base" Caldwell said.

"He's also a friend in need" John said, "His condition forces him to seek out the Wraith. If he's caught, he would compromise" Caldwell said.

"Look, I'm gonna find him, and I'm gonna bring him back" John said, "According to Doctor Beckett's report, there may not be anything that can be done to help him" Caldwell said, "With all due respect, sir, I hope you're not saying what I think you're saying" John said.

"Lieutenant Ford has already proved resourceful enough to prentrate security and escape the city. I'm saying if you encounter him and there's any chance whatsoever that his capture might prove elusive, you are duty bound to eliminate the threat. Lieutenant Ford may have been your friend, but he's not anymore. I know you understand, you'll do what's right. You didn't seem to have a problem with mercy when it came to Colonel Sumner" Caldwell repiled.

John walked away after Caldwell dismissed him, I looked at Caldwell. I wanted to punch him in the face, I knew John still regeted what he did to Sumner. "Caldwell, I know that I'm not in the Air Force or anything but John is smart and he will do what he think is right wether that is bring Ford home or killing him" I said.

"I never said he wouldn't do what was right" Caldwell repiled, "Thats what you were thinking though, you have been wanting John's job for a while now but just because he may mess up once in awhile doesn't mean he isn't a good Colonel and won't do his job right" I said walking off without another word to Caldwell.

It was a very long day waiting for John and his team to come back to the city, I tried to keep my mind off the fact that Ford could hurt John, Teyla, Lorne, McKay or any of the other men on that planet. I got caught up on mission reports and did a lot of working out while John was off-world. Working out was one of the best ways to get my mind off John in dauger yet again. I always had time to clean up and shower before John came back but this time I heard from Zelenka that they were back, I ran up to the conference room as fast as I could to see what was going.

"I shot him once. Didn't slow him down" John said as I walked in, "I shot him too" McKay said as poud as he could be, "He ran into the beam" John repiled.

"Are you suggesting he wanted to be taken?" Weir asked as she nodded to me to sit down, "I think he saw it was the only way off the planet" John repiled.

"Well, I can tell you from the quality time I spent with Ford, he was definitely not thinking staight" McKay said, "Now thanks to you, he's in enemy hands with infomation that could compromise all of us" Caldwell said to John.

"I don't think he'll give us away" John said, "Oh, thank you so much for your ssurance, Colonel. I'll be sure to include your 'feelings' in my report" Caldwell repiled. Me and John headed back to our room to shower and get ready for dinner.

After dinner, me and John went back to our room to get ready for the night, I was sitting there thinking on the chair we had set up outside our room. John walked behind him and wrapped his arms around hugging me, I turned around and kissed his forhead. I knew he just wanted welcome the quiet, the down time and the alone time we got together. We either worked together off-world or I was stuck here while he risked his life fighting for this city. We both knew that Ford might be dead right now but we just didn't want to talk because if Ford was brought up, it would be to painful to talk about right then and there. All John said that night outside was "He was so close".

Chapter 21 I thought it was kinda funny

About two weeks after we had found Ford on a planet that me, doctor Parrish and Major Lorne had been on, we were looking for survivors of a culling and thankfully I got John to let me tag on this mission.

"Alirght, I'm about ready to call this one. Doesn't look like there are any survivors" John said, "The cullings are getting more and more intense" Teyla repiled.

"WEll you said it yourself: too many Wraith woke up at the same time. Too many mouths to feed- or..hands to feed" John said, "Welll, we're heading back to the Gate, meet you there?" Lorne asked.

"Sounds like a plan. McKay, Beckett: you havin' any luck?" John asked, "Negative, Colonel, we haven't found anyone" Beckett said. I was with Beckett, Rodney and Lieutenant Cadman.

"Make your way back to the Gate" John said, "Will do. Beckett out" he repiled.

We continue to walk, Cadman reachs down and pulls up some flowers then turns to McKay.

"So maybe you should pick some wildflowers from around here, I think she'd get a kick out of that" Cadman said.

"What are you talking about?" McKay asked, "You've got a date tomorrow tonight with Katie Brown, right?" Cadman asked.

"She's a bontanist, she never gets to go offworld, so" I said, "What's this now?" Beckett asked, "It's nothing, nothing" McKay repiled.

"You have a date, Rodney? With a woman?" Beckett asked as I started laughing wondering if he was going to catch what Beckett said.

"It is simply two adults sharing some friendly..Yes, with a woman!" McKay said. "Well, she's excited about it. Now sure why, though" Cadman said.

"How would you know?" McKay asked, "Girls' poker night. She knows a lot of things, McKay" I repiled.

"I'm sure it's none of your business. This is an inappropriate field conversation" McKay said, "What? I was just suggesting you might wanna pick some flowers" Cadman said.

"Yes, and maybe you should just do your job, which is to protect us" McKay said, "Shut up" Cadman said as I heard the buzzing sound she heard.

"Shut up? Let me tell you something.." McKay said, "Stop speaking!" I yelled, McKay finally stops talking long enough for us to hear buzzing.

"Dart" Cadman said, as she activates her radio, "We have a Dart incoming". "Move it!" I yell as we all start running. I pushed myself hard. "Seeing us will blow Atlantis' cover. Anyone get a clear shot, you take it, understand?" John said into the radio as I turned around to see Cadman getting closer to Carson and McKay.

"Scatter!" Cadman yelled as she shoved Carson in one direction. McKay and Cadman kept running, "McKay!"

As I turn around to see Cadman reaching out to push McKay away but the transport beam sweeps down and whisks them both away.

"It is heading towards the Gate. We damaged it but it is still on its way" Teyla said, "Wait, McKay and Cadman have been beamed aboard that Dart!" I yell as I run up to John and silde on the ground almost crying.

"We can't risk the Dart making it back to the hive ship" John said. The dart comes into view and starts heading straight towards the gate. John of course open fires on it and so do the others. Carson still running across the feild, looks up and sees the Dart roll and start hitting the ground right near him.

"What the hell d' you think you're doing?" Beckett said, "It was reaching for the self-destruct" John repiled, "He's the only one that cang et Cadman and McKay out!" Beckett said.

"I seriously doubt he'd oblige" John said, "Well, we'll never know now, will we?" Beckett asked.

"Is everyone alright?" Teyla asked, "We're fine. Hason, radio Atlantis. We want Zelenka here asap. We've got a problem" John said.

A little while later, Zelenka showed up and was working on the Dart. I had tried to figure it out but I couldn't, so Zelenka took over.

"Colonel!" Zelenka said, just then, sparks fly from the interface and Radek jumps up in terror. "First time offworld?" John asked.

"Yes" Zelenka said, "Well, if there were any more Wraith, they would have attacked us by now" John repiled, "Really?" Zelenka asked.

"If it makes you feel better. Did you find what we want?" John asked, "Uh, well, yes, but it's very complex. This interface controls the machine that dematerialises people, stores their infomation and then rematerialises them again when commanded to" Zelenka repiled.

"Great. Command it to!" John said, "Uh, I can't" Zelenka said, "From what we can tell, the materialiser is storing two lifesigns" I said.

"Yes" Zelenka said, "Which is good!" John repiled, "Yes, but there is only enough power in the Dart's energy cell to successfully rematerialise one of them. Power to the rematerialiser has been completely severed and emergency back-up power has been completely run down" I said, "Ok" John said not understanding what I was talking about.

"No, no, no sorry, Alex was unclear" Zelenka said.

"You have to decide which one we're going to beam out" I said, "It's a terrible choice to have to make" Beckett said, "It's easy. Beam out McKay, he'll figure it out how to get Cadman free" John said.

"Yes, they just read as lifesigns" Zelenka said, "Perfect! Alright that one" John said, "Go. Stand aside" I said.

Zelenka activates his computer and a beam shoots out of the Dart and a moment later, Rodney is standing there.

"Rodney, you OK?" John asked, "Mmm" McKay repiled as he keels over and drops to the ground, unconscious. Beckett rushed over and checked his pulse.

"His pulse is stable but I need to get him back to Atlantis" Beckett said, "Teyla, Lorne, Alex, Help the Doc head back to the city with McKay. We're gonna stay here with Zelenka, try to bring as much of the Dart back as possible" John said.

I had helped Beckett with McKay as much as I could then left to go get a shower in before I had to go help Zelenka with the Dart. John radioed me about 10 minutes after I was done to tell me to meet him and Zelenka in the Hangar to start working on the Dart. Rodney, Beckett, John, Teyla and Weir walked into the Hangar about an hour after I started working on the Dart.

Rodney was looking at a piece of the broken transformer.

"Oh, nice work!" McKay said, "We were running out of power. I knew hardly anything about the machine. Who would have thought this could be one of the side effects?" Zelenka asked.

"So, instead of waiting to *understand* what it was you were doing, you just sort of mashed on the keyboard hoping something would happen!" McKay yelled.

"Well, you're alive, aren't you?" Zelenka asked, "He doesn't know how to fix it!" McKay said.

We all stare at him as if hes crazy, "What?" I asked, "I'm talking to her!" McKay said.

"You can hear her thoughts?" Weir asked, "No, not her thoughts, thank god. I can hear when she's speaking..when she's trying to speak" McKay repiled.

"Are you sure he should have been discharged from the Infirmary, Carson?" Weir asked, "According to the MRI, he's as healthy as he ever was" Beckett repiled.

"Well, we can't all be track stars, now, can we? It was her again" McKay said.

"Maybe there's something wrong an MRI wouldn't pick up, if you know what I mean" John said to Beckett, "I'm not crazy, I just have another consciousness in my brain" McKay said.

"So he just looks crazy" John said, "I'm sure I do, but only because Doctor Fumbles McStupid over here was in way over his head!" McKay yelled.

"Yes, Yes, *I* made a mistake trying to save YOUR life. Now, d'you want to try to fix it, or do you want to continue to berate me somewhat?" Zelenka asked.

"I'm perfectly capable of doing both at the same time. Now, I assume you've tried to run one of our own generators on it?" McKay asked, "It's not as simle as that" Zelenka repiled.

"The trick is having in interface with the Wraith machine in real time. The power fluctuations are, are, are huge. Er, if we overshoot just a little" I said.

"We're screwed up" Zelenka said, "Yeah, yeah. Um, I'm sure if we can maybe run an interface programme that will take care of all the. Uh, here's what I want us to try. We'll take a, uh, naqahdah generator. And, um...and uh, YES! WHAT?. WEll, stop asking stupid questions!" McKay said.

"Rodney" Beckett said, "I will get you out of here, OK? Now just be a good little girlie and keep quiet" McKay said.

"And do you have a degree in physics, hmm? Well, what about mechanical engineering, huh?" McKay asked, "Rodney?" Weir asked.

"YES? sorry, I'm sorry. What, please?" McKay asked.

"Why don't we let Zelenka handle this?" Weir asked, "I'm fine" McKay said, "No, you're not" John said.

"And I'd like you to talk to Doctor Heightmeyer" Weir said, "I think it'd be more useful if I was" McKay repiled.

"I think it'd be more useful if I was" McKay said, "Rodney. I'm not asking you" Weir said, "Fine" McKay repiled as he walked away. Me and John went go eat dinner after he was done testing the guy they had found when we ran into Ford.

We were just walking about to our room when we saw McKay walking through the halls, "You're up late" John said.

"Mmm. I couldn't sleep, I was, uh, trying to clear my head" McKay said, "I, uh, hear the transformer test didn't go so wel" John said.

"Well, you heard right" McKay repiled, "uh, listen. I wanted to know that I gave the command to take the Dart down" John said.

"Well, much as I'd like to pretend that this is remotely your fault, the thought of waht would've happened if you hadn't shot the Dart down is, uh.." McKay said, "so we're cool" John said.

"No, you're cool, I'm fine" McKay said, "you should get some sleep" John said. Pointing to his head, "She says she's tired" McKay said.

Me and John walked into the Gym later the next morning, John was late yet again for a sparring lesson with Teyla. When the door opened, we saw Ronon and Teyla sparring.

"I thought we were supposed to be sparring today?" John asked, "You were late. So Ronon and I" Teyla said as she turned her dead towards us. Ronon immediately knocked her sticks out of her hand and rushes over grabbing her by the throat. I jumped at the sight, Teyla struggled and he roars and throw her ferouciously to the ground, still pinning her by the throat.

John ran forward and beads down to them and putting his hand on Ronon's.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" John asked, "I wouldn't have hurt her" Ronon repiled, "You sure in hell looked like you were going to. You OK?" John asked.

"I am fine. I told him that he didn't have to go easy on me" Teyla repiled as Ronon pushed me against the wall to get past me.

"You've gotta be careful what you say to this guy" John said. Me and John had a sparring lesson with each other, It was different sparring against John because he went to easy on me.

I kept telling him, I was just as good as him. Maybe even better than him but he wouldn't stop taking it easy on me. I loved how sweet he was but this is it, I pushed my sticks against his chest pushing him against the wall and kissing his check. He looked at his watch after kissing me back, after he saw what time it was. He went to go talk to Weir and than maybe go check up on McKay. I walked back to our room to shower from sweating so much, about half an hour later. I was walking down the halls to go get something to eat and when I saw Beckett and John running toward the Hangar, I followed.

McKay was there saying that he figured out how to fix it, "Hold on, Rodney, I thought all the mice died?" John asked.

"Well, what are we mice or men?" Mckay asked, "Are you sure about this?" Weir asked, "Absoultely, yes" McKay repiled.

"Ok" Weir said, "Just...give me a second. Well, Laura, it's been, um...unique. Good lock to us both, right?" McKay asked.

"Alright. It's ready. I suggest you take a step back" Zelenka said as I stepped back with John, Beckett and Weir.

"Wait!" Cadman's voice came out, Mckay turns and walks purposefully over to Beckett, grabs him by the lapels of his lab coat and pulls him close and kisses him passionately.

"Just in case this doesn't work. Just, just hit it" McKay said after Cadman.

"OK, it's reading as two lifesigns. Power levels are steady" Zelenka said, "get 'em out of there!" John yelled. After we got McKay and Cadman to the Infirmary, me and John went to go to bed.

We laid there not talking but I wanted to laugh so bad. Finally I couldn't hold it in any longer and started laughing, John looked at me and I started laughing harder. He laughed with me for a while then we fell asleep.

Chapter 21 Are you sure you are ok?

John had a mission this morning, I wanted to go but Ronon was going this time so I stayed back to get caught up on some work. I was talking so many laugnges that morning, I wish i didn't learn so many. I radioed Weir asking if I could work in the control room.

As I was working in the control room, the Gate activated and we didn't recieved no IDC then the Gate shut down.

"What happend?" Weir asked, "The Gate activiated but nothin came through" I repiled, "Colonel Sheppard?" Weir asked, "So we assume. We recieved no IDC, a few moments later, the gate shuts down" I said.

"They should have returned by now. Dail the planet and try to establish a radio link" Weir said,"Yes, Ma'am" I repiled.

"Major Lorne, This is Weir" she said, "go ahead" Lorne said, "I may have to go offworld to assist Colonel Sheppard. I'd like you to assemble a team and have a Puddlejumper ready to go" Weir said, "Yes, Ma'am" Lorne repiled.

I had to go with Weir too, I asked her and she didn't seem to think anything was wrong with it. But she told me that if anything had happened to John that I must contorl myself.

"All set?" I asked, 'Ready to go. Don't worry, we'll find them" Lorne said, "I was hoping to negotiate a trade agreement" Weir said sitting down.

"Now I'm worried you are going to have to negotiate their release" I said, "We don't know that" Lorne said looking at me.

"Dail the Gate, but go the stealth mode the moment we're through" Weir said.

"They have not returned to the planet?" The magistrate asked, "No, and we haven't been able to establish radio contact with them either" Weir repiled.

"They didn't return to the city. Perhaps they travelled through the Ring to another Planet" The magistrate, "No, they would have radioed first" I said.

"Something must have happened on the island. I'll alert our security teams, have them begin a search" Marin said, "We'll join them" Lorne said, "I would advise against that" The magistrate repiled.

"Would you?" I asked, "The island is extremely dangerous. Our ships are heavily armoured. We know the terrain, as well as the prisoners tactics. Don't worry, we'll find them" The magistrate said.

"I hope you do, Magistrate, for all our sakes" Weir said, "Of course" The Magistrate said. I was siting in the room Marin and the magistrate lead us to.

"Lorne, do you think Johns alright?" I asked, "Of course, Sheppard knows how to take care of himself" Lorne repiled.

The magistrate came into the room, "I'm afraid the news is not good. Our rescue teams had just begun their search on the island when the Ancerstal Ring activated" he said.

"The Wraith?" Weir asked, "it appears a culling is under way. We're not sure how many ships are involoved but our teams were forced to fall back. We're not giving up hope. I'll send teams back in the moment the Wraith are gone. Hopefully, your friends will have evaded the culling. I must attend to this" he repiled.

About 2 hours later, Marin walked in looking back to make sure no one was following her.

"Marin? What's happened?" Weir asked, "No-one must know I'm speaking to you" she repiled, "of course" I said, "you should leave, as soon as possible" Marin said.

"Why?" Lorne asked, "The Magistrate has just rescinded my orders to send rescue teams back to the island" she repiled.

What?" Why would he do that?" I asked, "Several arrest have been made. Many people in the city have been apprehended for unspecified violations, to be sent to the island to increase the popation there" she repiled.

"To keep the Wraith fed" Lorne said, "It's been going on for some time, but never so bad so this. The numbers of arrests has.. I cannot keep quiet any longer. I have to speak out" Marin said.

The door open and the Magistrate walked in, "Lies! Seeding fear not onlt among your own people but now our guests. I cannot allow it" The magistrate said.

"I was only trying to understand why so many people are being arrested" Marin repiled, "Your job is not to question the actions of this government" The magistrate said as he gestures and a coupe of guards step forward and take Marin's arms.

"No! Wait! Help me! Please!" Marin said, "Where are they taking her?" Weir asked, "I'm sorry you had to witness that" He repiled.

"What crime has she committed?" I asked, "I've recently learned that Marin has been involved in a group seeking to undermine the Olesian government. She's become very adept at spinning lies to suit her organisation's treasonable agenda" The magistrate repiled.

"Did you or did you not rescind the order to send rescue teams back to the island?" I asked, "Why would I do that?" he asked.

"That doesn't concern me. My first concern's with the safety of my people and I promise you" Weir said.

"Everything is being done to ensure their rescue and safe return. If there's been any hindrance at all, it was because of Marin" he said.

"What's gonna happen to her now?" Weir asked, "She'll receive a fair trail in our courts" The magistrate repiled.

"And then what? Send to the island?" Lorne asked, "I'm sure where you come from, treason is also considered a very serious offence" He repiled.

"So that's a yes" Lorne said, "Tell me: what else is considered a serious offence around here?" Weir asked.

"Anything that threatens the welfare of the Olesian people" he repiled, "Are you sure it's the welfare of the people that concerns you? or just your own?" Weir asked.

"Choose your words very carefully, Doctor Weir" he repiled, "Oh, I do. Why, is that a threat?" Weir asked, "It's advice, from one ally to another" he repiled.

"Well, this alliance, it's just been rescinded. We're leaving. What, you plan to arrest us too? Because you do not wanna do that" Weir said. as the guards try and stop us from leaving.

"We've got a Wraith cruiser heading for the island and I'm picking up several more on approach outside the atmosphere" Lorne said, "Go to stealth mode. Let's find our guys before they do" Weir said.

We were approaching the cruiser when we see a drone shot up and hit the underside of the cruiser. "Colonel Sheppard. You've damaged the Wraith cruiser and it's leaving the area. But there are two more cruisers incoming" Weir said.

"Elizabeth, where are you?" John asked, "We're in Jumper two. We've cloaked, directly above you. Are you alright?" Weir asked.

"Our Jumper's disabled. Right now I need you to dail the Gate to one of the back-up planets for the Alpha Site. Doesn't matter which one" John repiled.

"Understood. Do it" Weir said, Lorne start to dail, John told us that we needed to keep the Gate open until the last of the guys went through then to dail Atlantis.

We all got home safety and we had to debelif. After we got done, me and John went to go get some dinner. We got to the mess hall and Ronon was sitting there.

"Hello Ronon, my name is Alexura Wilson but you can call me Alex" I said sitting down, "Nice to meet you" Ronon repiled.

"So how are you liking being on John's team?" I asked, "Its fine" Ronon repiled, "Alex likes to get to know people by inteorring them" John said laughing.

I hit his arm and laughed, we got done with dinner and went to our room. John sat down and put his hands on his head, "Are you ok?" I asked sitting down next to him, "Yeah, I'm fine" he repiled.

"Are you sure you are OK?" I asked, "Yes, Alex. I'm fine, i'm gald I'm home and happy that I'm with you" he repiled kissing my check. We fell asleep, waking up to McKay radioing us that he found something he wants to go check out.

John begged me to go with them because maybe I could explain things better to him then McKay could. I couldn't say no to tagging on a mission.

Chapter 22 McKay feels bad about what happened

McKay was talking to Ronon on the way to the planet, "I'm just saying as a team veteran to the new guy: heavy luch before mission departure- bad idea. I mean, even with the inertial dampeners, this whole flying thing's best done on an empty stomach" McKay said.

"Yeah, well, I've got a pretty strong stomach" Ronon repiled, "Hey, I can eat frozen dinners without thawing them. It's not as if it even affects me" McKay said.

"Alex, are you reading anything?" John asked, "Nothing. Life signs from the planet are negative" I repiled.

"Then it is a shame. From what we read in the Atlantis database, the Dorandans were a wonderful race of people" Teyla said.

"Well, the database is over ten thousand years old. You can bet things have changed around here" I said, "Sheppard" Ronon said as he stands.

John looks and sees that they are flying towards a bedris field above the planet. "Ok, that's not something you see every day" John said.

"There was a great battle here. That is a hive ship" Teyla said, "that was a hive ship" Ronon said.

"Something put a lot of holes in it alright. We should check it out" John said, "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. What if whatever put the holes in it wants to put holes in us?" McKay asked, "Well, Alex just said, a lot's changed in ten thousand years" John said.

John goes down towards the planet. As we break through the clouds, we see a ruined city.

"That would explain the lack of life signs" McKay said, "This is what usually happens when you fight back" Ronon said.

"These folks took out a fleet of Wraith ships. I'd say they did a pretty good job of fighting back" John repiled,"Hold on, I'm picking up faint energy readings coming from there. That would explain how they were able to put up such a good fight" I said.

"How?" John asked, "Because..they were Ancients" McKay said. Shortly after, we saw the building, we landed on the top, were a large weapon of some sort was there.

We climbed down a metal ladder into what looks like a laboratory. We were looking around with flashlights, McKay walks over to a console.

"Definitely Ancient design. Their latest stuff, too. Their latest being ten thousand years old" McKay said, "Looks a lot like the labs we found on Atlantis" John said, "So this is one their outposts" Ronon said "Yet the Ancestors made no mention of their presence here in the database. Why?" Teyla asked.

"Well, let's find out. Can you power it up?" John asked, "Working on it" I said, "I got two bodies here" John said.

"I got there more over here. Whatever happened here, no-one came back to claim the dead" Ronon said.

"Can't tell if they were fed on by the Wraith" John said, "Yeah, well something killed them" Ronon said.

"Something killed everyone on this world" Teyla said, "Now why is this outpost, if that's what it is still intact? Doesn't make sense. What do you think, Rodney?" John asked, "Ha! Sorry, I wasn't listening, but it just stuck me that, if this is an Ancient outpost, why would the Wraith leave it intact?" McKay asked, I look over to Teyla, Ronon and then John.

"It's a good question" John said, "Huh. Alright so" McKay said.

We went back to Atlantis and we reported to Weir about what we found, "So it's a military research facility" Weir said.

"From what we can tell, it's a ground-based version of the satellite weapon we used to destroy that hive ship" John said.

"With one major exception. Firepower. I mean, if that single outpost was resonsible for destorying an entire Wraith fleet" I said, "And you're suer it was this weapon that destroyed all those Wraith ships?" Weir asked.

"It had to be. There's nothing on the planet that suggests the Dorandans had anything capable of infilicting anywhere near that much damage" John said.

"If we could learn of such technology, we could defend other words from being culled" Teyla said, "It didn't save the Dorandans" Ronon said.

"Yeah, but at the end of the day the outpost was still standing and that means, uh...well, i'm not sure what that means, but it means something definitely worth checking out" McKay said, "Colonel?" Weir asked.

"He's right. It's definitely worth sending a reasarch team back" John said, "Good! Well, give me Optican, Collins, and Zelenka if he's over the stomach flu and oh Wilson. We'll try to access the computer's log books, see if we can decipher them. Once that" McKay said.

"OK! OK! Easy sell. Go" Weir said, "Oh good!" McKay repiled, and he hurries off.

John, me, McKay and half a dozen sicentist were in the lab. "I'm telling you, at least point zero nine percent" Zelenka said, "Oh please, please, move the decimal place. I mean, it's-it's-it's impossible, for God's sake" McKay repiled.

"Have we figured out what this is?" John asked, "No" I said, "No, I wouldn't say no, no we have a theory" Zelenka said.

"But we don't know yet" McKay said, "No, but based on the shielding around the chamber, what else could it be?" I said, "Have you tried turning it on" John asked, "That's what we're workingon. The problem is that there's no direct link btween it and the main power control systems, which among other things, has led us to theorise that it's an ancillary power supply for the weapons system" McKay repiled.

"Cool!" John said, McKay points to John's face while looking at Zelenka and me, "See that? See? See the way he lights up at the mention of that? It's like Doctor vogel at the mention of pastries" McKay said, "They found out a way to soup up their space guns" John said.

"Yes, but it's-it's much more than that" Zelenka said, "Well, the sticking point is that there's no tie between the power generator and the primary capacitor" McKay said.

"Meaning they would have a channel the power directly into the weapon" I said, 'Which I'm sure means nohthing to you" McKay said.

"It means they can fire multiple bursts without having to store up more power for the next firing sequence" John said, "Yes, very good" McKay said.

"Which leads me back to 'cool" John said, "Hmm" McKay said, "Yes, but it only makes sense if we're right" Zelenka said.

"About what?" John asked, "Tell him" Zelenka said, "Not yet" McKay said, "Come on, McKay, you read equations. What else could it be? An ancient typo?" Zelenka repiled.

"Well, we know they're not perfect, because they'll all dead. Look, I just, I just don't want you to get all excited over nothing" McKay said.

"Well, maybe you're right" John said, "Alright, I'll give you a hint. It seems that the Ancients were experimenting with high-energy physics on a level that we've never seen before" McKay repiled.

"Wow" John said, "Yes, wow. I just- I wanna be sure" McKay said, "I'dd do my best to wait" John said.

About an hour after that, we got ready to head back to the city. John radioed Atlantis, "This is Weir, go ahead, Colonel" she said, "We're on our way back. Rodney wants to fill you in" John repiled.  
"I take it you found something interesting" Weir said, "Interesting? How about the greatest discovery of all time?" McKay said.

"He's pretty exicted" John said, "So I hear. You couldn't even wait 'til you got back" Weir said, "I wanted to send an encoded data burst directly from the outpost to the secure network in my lab while the Gate was active. Now" McKay said.

"Care to fill me in so I can be excited too?" Weir asked, 'It's a weapon" John repiled, "It is much much more than a weapon. We think we've stumbled across the Ancients' last great discovery. It was too late to win the war for them but I think if I can finish the work they started, then" McKay said.

"What is it?" Weir asked, "It is the ultimate power source, something that would make Zero Point Modules seem like alkaline batteries in comparison" McKay repiled.

We got back to Atlantis and started to tell Callwell and Weir what we found, "It was called Project Arcturus and, from what we can tell, its ultimate goal was to render ZedPMs obsolete" I said.

"How?" Weir asked, "A Zero Point Module is an artificially created region of subspace time. It's kind of like a miniature universe in a bottle" I repiled.

"It extracts vacuum energy from this artificail region of subspace time until it reaches maximum entropy" Zelenka said.

"So what's the different about this thing?" Caldwell asked, "Project Arcturus was attempting to extract vacuum energy from our own space-time, making it pontentially as powerful as the scope of the universe itself" I repiled.

"It strikes me as something the Ancients would have tried first, even before ZeePMs" Caldwell said, "And they may have, but extracting zero point energy from our own universe is...well, it's, uh, definitely tricker" McKay said, "Explain trickier" Weir said.

"Well, because we actually have to live in our own universe, it presents a while range of problems" I said, "Well, obviously it's not that easy or Atlantis wouldn't still rely on ZeePMs" Caldwell said, "Well, you're right. The Ancients couldn't make it work" John said.

"I said I wanted to do all the talking" McKay said, "Come on, Rodney, Arcturus was a total failure" John repiled.  
"Failure, yes. Total, no. Look, the Ancients were losing the war against the Wraith when work on th Arcturus began. If they could have made it work, it could have turned the tide of war. I mean, we're talking about their own Mahhattan Project here" McKay said.

"The outpost was ordered by the Anceinets in Atlantis to defend the Dorandan people using their weapons powered by this new power source" John said.

"Yes, but despite their strong reservations that it was not ready to be tested under battle conditions" I said, "the point is, the Wraith won" John said.

"Yeah, but the Dorandans still inflicted massive damage on the Wraith fleet" McK said, "I'm not saying they didn't put up a hell of a fight" John said, "The logs indicate there was a major malfunction" I said.

"Well, yes, the Ancients in the bunker were forced to shut everything donwn, including the weapon" McKay repiled.

"The Wraith sent more ships, the Dorandans got wiped out" John said, "So if the malfunction hadn't occurred, the Ancients would have saved the planet?" Caldwell asked, "Definitely" Mckay said.

"Possibly. Don't sugar-coat this, Rodney" John said, "The Ancient scientists running Arcturus were rushed into testing before they had perfected a means of effectively contorlling the power output. I believe if they'd had more time, history would have played out differently on that planet, possibly in this galaxy" McKay said.

"I won't deny that this is something that we'd dearly love to get our hands on, but the Ancinets were pretty bright bunch" Caldwell said, "And desperate, and losing a war they'd alreayd been fighting for a hundred years. More importantly, they were they were like this close" McKay said.

"And you believe you can finish their work?" Weir asked, "I do" McKay repiled, "We do" Zelenka said, "They do" John said.

We were back at the outpost, we worked, worked and worked. John was there helping out, I was trying to control myself before I punched McKay in the face for being so annoying. McKay kept yelling at us and telling us what to do even though half of us already knew what to do. We were going to try and test the weapon, "Radek, talk to me" McKay said.

"I'm picking up some minor power fluctations. Chamber temperature's holding steady. There it goes again" Zelenka said, "Everything OK?" John asked after walking away from the window that went into the chamber, "Everything's fine. The containment bubble was designed to automatically compensate for any sudden changes in energy putput" McKay said.

"This never happened in the simulations" I said, "Maybe we should abort" John said, "I said it's fine. Collins, see if you can boost more power to the feild manually" McKay said.

"You got it" Collins said as he heads for the Command Access Tube, "Prepare for test firing on my mark" McKay said.

"Levels just spiked into the red" I said as I saw OVERLOAD flash on my screen, "What?" McKay asked, "Shut it down. Shut it all down" John said.

"I'm trying" McKay repiled, "The interface is not responding" I said, "Alright, I'm gonna switch to back-ups" McKay said.

"Levels are going off the scale!" I said, "McKay?" John asked, "I have given the command to shut down. Something's draining the overload" McKay repiled, "we should evacuate" John said.

"Just give me a few seconds" McKay said, "We may not have that time" John said, "Wait, wait, wait. It's stabilising" I said, "Generator is offline" Zelenka said, "What the hell just happened?" John asked, "Obviously there was a surge of some kind. Look, Colli...Collins!" McKay said.

We run over to the Command Access Tube, we open the door to see Collins lying on the floor, smoke rising from his body. We can't see his face but he is burnt really badly, we take him back to Atlantis to get Beckett to look at the body. The whole way back, I couldn't stop seeing his body in my mind, Collins was a great guy, me and him became friends when he first came here.

We were in the conference room, "Officially my report will indicate Doctor Collins died due to radiation exposure, causing severe burns to well over ninety percent of his body" Beckett said.

"But it was more than that?" Weir asked, "Aye. Much more. To be honest, I have no idea what sort of radiation it was. I've never seen or heard of cellular decay this massive, not when exposure only lasted mere seconds" Beckett repiled.

"Collins' next of kin have been notified" John said, "Good. What went wrong?" Weir asked, "We're still analysing data from the test. All we know for certain was there was a massive power surge which, in turn, caused the containment field to expand asymmetrically in the direction of the Command Access Tube. As to why" I said, "How about human error?" Caldwell asked, "Excuse me?" McKay asked.

"Well, according to your reports, during the test, Doctor Collins made an adjustment to the containment field. Is it possible that he triggered the surge himself?" Caldwell asked, "Are you looking for a scapegoat, Colonel?" Weir asked.

"Not at all, Doctor. I'm admittedly looking for a rationale that would allow Doctor McKay to continue his very important work. Is there something work with that?" Caldwell asked, "No, Collins knew the system just as well as any of us" McKay repiled.

"He wouldn't have made that kind of miskate. Everything was going well; everyone did their job" I said, "Then what?" Weir asked.

"I don't know. In terms of physics, it shouldn't have happened" McKay repiled, "We're still analysing the data from the accident, it's going to take time" Zelenka said, "What I do know is the device did what it was supposed to do" McKay said.

"No, Rodney, it didn't" John said, "Well, apart from the obvious containment issues" McKay said, "It overloaded and you couldn't stop it" John repiled, "Well, we won't know for sure until we go back down there and try again" McKay said.

"Try again? Are you serious?" John asked, "Yes" McKay repiled, "A member of your team is in the morgue" John said, "And I am responisble for his death, yes. I am painfully aware of that. I sent him in there and I will have to live with that for the rest of my life. But we have responsibility to understand what happened and learn from it" McKay repiled.

"Rodney, we don't even know what went wrong" I said, "Which is why we have to go back" McKay said.

"I know how important this is to you, Rodney, but we knew when we came to Atlantis that we migth encounter certain technologies which, for the moment, are out of our reach" Weir said.

"It's not in this case" McKay said, "You have the data from your first attempt. You can run all the simulations you want" Weir said.

"C'mon, Elizabeth, you really think the military's gonna let this go, huh? I mean, at the very least we should be the first ones in there to spearhead the resarch" Mckay said, "That's what this is about? You wanna beat them to it? I'm sorry, the answer's no" Weir said.

Later that night, John was coming back from training new marines, I was laying on the bed. John came in then heard a knock on the door.

I stood by John while listening to McKay talk, "Harry K Dalling" McKay said, "Who?" John asked.

"He was a scientist worked on the Mahhattan Project at Los Alamos. He was only twenty-six years old. Accidentally irradiated himself while performing a critical mass experiment on two half- spheres of plutonium. Took him a month to die. While his body was slowly shutting gown from radiation posioning, you know what he did with his last thirty days, hmm? He worked. He tried until his last breath to understand what had happened to him so that others could learn from the tragedy, so that his work, his death, wouldn't be rendered meaningless. Now, have you considered what would have happened if they'd just shut the Project down after that?" McKay asked.

"This is different" John repiled, "Is it? Collins' death is a pointless waster of life unless something comes of this, and I am not sure that I can...I think I know what happened" McKay said.

"Let's hear it" John said, "Can I come in?" McKay asked, "No" John repiled, "The Ancients had it wrong. Our mistake was using their equations. Look, I just did the calculations again myself. I did them three times just to be sure and I am positive the problem is in the automatic containment protocols" McKay said.

"Ok, what'd you fix?" John asked, "I am propsing that we adjust the field strength manually" McKay repiled, "You saw how fast it spiked on you" John said, "So, we don't operate the generator at anywhere near its potential. Look, there's no need to be greedy. Even operating at fifty percent, it'll still generate the power of a dozen ZedPMs" McKay said.

"How come the Ancients didn't figure this out?" John asked, "Maybe they were caught up in the heat of battle. maybe they thought they needed as much power as they could get. Maybe they weren't smart enough" McKay repiled.

"And you are?" John asked, "No, I didn't say that, but I have the beneift of hindsight. They didn't, look this is big. This is the wheel, the light bulb, the hot dog big" McKay repiled.

"Best case scenario?" John asked, "I win a Nobel Prize" McKay repiled, "Worst case scenario?" John asked.

"We tear a hole in the fabric of the universe..which is much less likely to happen than the Nobel Prize. I mean, look, the risk are nothing compared to the potential benefits. Elizabeth will listen to you. I have never asked this of you before, but I think I've earned it. Trust me" McKay repiled.

John got Weir to say yes to going back to the planet, I had tried to get John to let me come but he said no, and that he didn't want anything happening to me. I was working in the control room and trying to help Zelenka finish going over the accident data. When we found something, "Doctor Weir, we need to speak to you right away" Zelenka said.

"What is it?" Weir asked, "I finished going over the accident data. I think I know why the Ancients abandnoned this technology" Zelenka repiled, we dailed the gate and radioed John.

"Colonel Sheppard, this is Atlantis" Weir said, "Go ahead" John said, "Is Doctor McKay with you?" Weir asked, "Of course I am, but we're a little busy getting ready to run a test here" McKay said, "Actually, I would like you to delay the test firing" Weir repiled.

"Why?" John asked, "We have reason to believe that the weapon's power source, it may not be contollable at any power level" Weir said.

"Radek?" McKay asked, "Rodney?" Zelenka said, "OK, we have been over this. I am doing this manually, at half power. It's a cakewalk" McKay said.

"I don't think it matters how much cake you walk on. I've been doing calculations of my own and I believe that the very act of trying to contain vacuum energy rom our own space-time creates an environment where the laws of physics cease to apply" I said.

"What are you on about?" McKay asked.

"As power output increases, new and exotic particles are continously created and destroyed inside the containment chamber, interacting with each other and with the field itself. Eventually particles are created that cannpt be prevented in this space-time, and they breach the containment field as hard radiation" I repiled.

"As long as I'm monitoring the energy output manually, I can stop that before it happens" McKay said, "You can't predict something that is inherently unpredicatable" I repiled, "Rodney?" John asked.

"I know what I'm doing" McKay repiled, "Rodney, I am trying to tell you as a friend, I have serious doubts" I said.

"Well, you're wrong. I'm sorry, but there it is. And to bring this up now when I am just about to do this smacks of nothing but professional jealously" McKay said, "Fine! Kill youself, just like the Ancients did!" I said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what do you mean by that?" John asked, "I believe if the overload is allowed to continue, the weapon acts as a sort of release valve to prevent catastrophic containment failure. The Ancients barely managed to shut it down, and they lost their lives in the process" I repiled, "What we're suggesting is that the Wraith didn't kill everyone on that planet, it was the weapon itself" Weir said.

"That would explain why this place is the only thing left standing" John said.

"Congratulations- you've solved the mystery of how the Ancinets screwed up ten thousand years ago. It doesn't mean that I will do the same. Look, I don't know how else to say this, but none of you are capable of understanding this on the same level that I do. And Zelenka, that includes you" McKay said.

"Rodney, I cannot afford to lose either one of you. Now tell me: can you do this?" Weir asked, "Yes" Rodney repiled.

"Are you sure?" John asked, "Yes" McKay repiled, "Are you sure you're sure?" John asked, "I said yes!" McKay repiled.

"Because if you're wrong" John said, "I'm not!" McKay said, "I'll can you back after the test, how does that sound?" John asked, "You'd better" Weir repiled. McKay ended up being wrong and destroyed three quarters of a solr system, John didn't trust McKay that much anymore, Rodney tried to get me to talk to John for him but I told him he needed to earn John's trust back his way. Not by having me talk to John for me, I was laying in bed that night, "John, McKay feels really bad about what happened" I said as I rolled over to face him.

"I know but I just don't know if I can trust him again" he repiled closing his eyes to go to bed.

Chapter 23 What the hell happened?

About three weeks, after what happened with John and McKay. John's team had a mission and I was working with Zelenka, me and Zelenka got to become really good friends.

We laughed and had fun but also worked hard to understand more about the Wraith, I was trying to use my Wraith powers as I called it like Teyla did but it was hard to work on them when Teyla was offworld.

Around lunch time, Zelenka told me to go take a break so when I heard John was in the Infirmary, I headed down there.

"A drug that allows the Wraith to survive without feeding?" Weir asked as I walked in, "That's what he said" John repiled.

"Is such a thing even possible?" Weir asked, "We don't know enough about Wraith physiology to say for certain, although I must admit it's intriguing that this Doctor Zeddik said the Wraith survived on normal food for a time" Beckett repiled.

"Why?" John asked, "Well, if he's telling the truth, it might be the answer to a very puzzling question. Right now, our best guess is that the Wraith evoloved from the iratus bug" Beckett repiled.

"Like the one that attached itself to my neck a year ago?" John asked, "that's right" Beckett repiled, "I hate those bugs" John said, "Trust me, I know. We speculated that they evolved into the Wraith when they began to take on the charactersitc of the humans they were feeding on" Beckett said.

"Now, there are many aspects of human physiology that are quite useful: bipedal motion, oppsable thumbs, large brain capacity...but the human digestive system serves no purpose in the adult Wraith. So why have one at all?" Beckett said

"Becuase they eat normal food when they're young?" I asked, "Exactly! Then at some point, they lose the ability to sustain themselves with that food" Beckett repiled.

"So it's a teenage thing? Pimples, rebellion, life-sucking?" John asked, Weir has her 'must you always joke?' face, then smiles slightly at John before turning back to Beckett.

"Something like that! The question is, what causes it? If it's due to some chemical dficiency, like a diabetic's inability to process sugar, then it's possible to maybe address with some kind of drug" Beckett repiled.

"Zaddik could be telling the truth" Weir said, "I'd like to go to the planet and check into it" Beckett said, "Is that really necessary? I'm sure we could get a sample, bring it back here for you to analyze?" Weir asked.

"It's not just the drug I'm interested in! This young Wraith could be very important for our research" Beckett repiled, "What research?" John asked.

"We're working on a retro-virus taht would alter Wraith DNA, essentially stripping out the bug elements of the genertic code and leaving only the human aspects behind" Beckett repiled.

"A drug that turns Wraith into humans?" John asked, "Effectively, yes! But so far we haven't had much success, partly becuase we lacked the living tissue and blood samples we need to test it" Beckett repiled.

"You think this..girl would be willing to provide them?" Weir asked.

"Look, I realize we can't bring her back to Atlantis, but I could take the retro-virus and equipment nescessary for the analysis with me to the planet. A few days with a coopative test subject could be worth months of tehoretical research. Elizabeth, I don't have to tell you how important this could be for us" Beckett repiled.

"Is she dangerous?" Weir asked, "She's a Wraith! Although..I have to admit...she does seem a little different" John repiled. After Beckett and John left, I went back to my room. I thought about this Wraith girl, she was part human but part Wraith.

Just like me and Teyla but me and Teyla looked like humans, I wondered what it would be like to grow up knowing that I had Wraith DNA in me. I didn't know until last year, Beckett found out when Teyla was having nightmares about Wraith and we found out she had Wraith DNA in her too. I fell asleep then got a radio call from Lorne saying that John and his team were back but I need to come to the Infirmary asap.

I walked into the Infirmary to hear John say, "I'm sure it will" John said looking at McKay, "This doesn't sting?" Beckett asked.

"No" John repiled, "I know you have a high threshold for pain, but this.." Beckett said, "This is what?" I asked, "Gone" Beckett repiled.

"What?" John asked, "The feeding mark. It's completely healed" Beckett repiled, "Maybe the wound wasn't that bad" John said.

"Then where'd all the blood come from?" Beckett asked, "I don't know, maybe it just looked a lot worse than it was" John repiled.

I don't see evidence of any cut at all" Beckett said, "That's weird, because it hurt like hell" John said, "You're sure the skin was broken?" Beckett asked.

"I'm pretty sure. There was a lot of blood! Maybe it was hers?" John asked, "It was definitely human" Beckett repiled.

"I don't know. Maybe it was a nosebleed" John said, "Is that supposed to be a joke, Colonel?" Beckett asked.

"Believe me, this isn't funny" John repiled, "Give me half a day to run your bloodwork and analyze it with the data we already here. We'll figure it out" Beckett said, "And until then?" John asked,"You're welcome to look over my shoulder" Beckett repiled.

"That's tempting, but..."John said smirking, "Just go about your day" Beckett said. John and Ronon went to go running, while I left to go get the whole story about what happened with this Wraith girl. It turns out that the Wraith girl took the reto-virus and started turning to a bigger and badder Wraith. John of course went after her and she jumped on him and attacked him, I didn't know what to say half to time when McKay was telling me about it.

Me and John were sparring because Teyla was tired and didn't really want to, while we sparring suddenly he pushed me against the wall, he kissed me but it wasn't like the other kisses we had shared this was weird, not John at all.

Beckett radioed John and told him he had news for us, We walked down to the Infirmary.

"The good news is, we can now say with some certainty that Ellia didn't drain away any of your life" Beckett said, "We already knew that" John said, "I suppose" Beckett said, "That's the best good news you could come up with?" John asked.

"It looks like you've been infected with the iratus bug retrovirus. The one we were working on to turn Ellia into a human" Beckett repiled, "You mean the one that didn't turn her into a human" I said, "Ellia administered the treatment prematurely. It wasn't even supposed to be.." Beckett said, "I'm not blaming you, Doc" John said interrupting him.

"But you're right. Then transformation was into a creature closer to the itatus bug thean to a human, and I know how much you.." Becektt said, "hate those bugs?" John asked, "Yes" Beckett repiled.

"But, for one...Ellia was a Wraith. And she tooka massive dose of the retrovirus. I mean, do we know how the Colonel's system might respond to the drug?" Weir asked, "I have no idea. It was never engineered to be given to a human. It was never intended" Beckett said, "Doc" John said, "To be given to anyone!" Beckett finished.

"Let it go" John half-whispered, "The problem is, I have no idea how your body will react! I can't even begin to guess" Beckett said.

"Well, if how I feel is any idication? I'm fine" John said, "It's certainly possible that it's already breakin' down in your system. Ellia transofrmation was extreme, and immediate" Beckett said, "See?" John said looking at Weir then me and he didn't take his eyes off me for at least 5 minutes.

"But then again, the wound on your arm healed unnaturally fast!" Beckett said, "If there was a wound" John said.

"There had to be! Otherwise, I don't see how you got infected in the first place!" Beckett said, "She was spitting an awful lot!" John said.

"So what, we just monitor it for now?" Weir asked, "Aye. You'll need to check in every six hours" Beckett repiled.

"I can do that" John said, 'And you should probably" Weir said, "Suspend my off-world activiaites until we know more?" John said.

"Thank you" Weir repiled, "See ya in six hours!" John said. I looked at Beckett and mouth that I would watch him and ran after John to keep up with him. We went to go get lunch then we went to our room, John sat down and looked down at his arm, I went and sat down next to him and saw what he was looking at.

It was a pale, scaly patch of skin surrounded by the same bruise coloration, John prods at it hesitantly and then radioed Beckett.

"Hey, Doc? This is Sheppard" he said, "Yes, Colonel?" Beckett repiled, "We may have to bump up our first check-in" John said.

Me and Weir were standing by Beckett far from John, "The retrovirus isn't breaking down in his system like we hoped it would" Beckett said very softly, "You're postive?" I asked, "Yes. In fact, it's beginning to alter his DNA. If this is allowed to continue, he'll deolve into a creature simliar to what Ellia became" Beckett repiled.

"How long do we have?" Weir asked, "I'm not sure exactly" Weir repiled, "Ballpark! Months, weeks?" I asked, "Days. We have days" Beckett repiled.

"OK, what's the plan?" Weir asked, "I've injected him witha viral inhibitor. It should slow down the retrovirus as far as his cognitive abilites are concerned, but I'm afraid that's it so far. We're exploring various treatments that may or may not be effective, soo" Beckett said.

"No, Carson, we don't have any time to explore. C'mon, there's got to be something in the Ancient database that can help you find a treatment!" I said, "I know, Alex. We're doing' our best!" Beckett replied.

"I'm sorry, I know . Of course you are" I said, "You should talk to him. He's hiding it very well, but if I was him? I'd b e scared to death" Beckett said.

"How'm I doing?", didn't say anythin, John looked me up and down, then frown, "Anything that has you speechless has me concerned" John said.

"You're gonna be fine" I said, "Wow, that's dead man talk " John repiled, "No, it isn't" I said, John turned up his right arm, showing the scaly patch has grown a but and changed to an ickily shiny, carbuncle- looking thing.

"How you seen this?" John asked, "Beckett is gonna figure this one out" I replied, "I think I already have. You know who I'm starting to feel like? Ford" John said.

"Now, what happened to you is completely different" I said, "I know, I know. Still, I can fell it. I mean, I can feel it changing me inside...like he did" John said.

"I don't think that's even possible, Look, you're very worried" I said, "No, no. No, it's...uh...one of the best weeks of my life was when I got my wisdom teeth out. I was on condiene for a full seven days. This is kinda the same. I know I should be in pain, or at the very least freaked out by this, but Hey! I'm not..and that freaks me out more than anything" John said.

"We're gonna bet this" John, "We're gonna beat this? Beckett'll figure this out? You're gonna be fine? you really suck at the whole bedside manner thing" John said.

"I know, I'm sorry" I said looking away, John pulled me closer and looked at me, "But I appreciate the effort" John said.

Beckett went to go figure out how to stop this as Weir went to go talk to Caldwell and I stayed with John until I went to go find Weir.

Me and Weir talked about what was going to happen with John, I told her I was scared out of mind for him and I couldn't lose him. I knew I couldn't live without him, John walked in and his neck was a lot bluer from when I left him in the Infirmary.

"Look! I made a new friend!" John said, I looked up as so did Weir, "It's only protocol" Weir repiled, "That's your answer for everything" John said, "You look well" I said.

I saw his hand and it looked claw-like and he put it in his pocket, "Should you be out of bed?" Weir asked, "I was goin' a little crazy down there, so they said I could walk around for a bit" John repiled, "That's good" I said softly.

"Look, what I'm trying to say is that I want to go on this mission" John said, 'Hey, you said it yourself. You are not ift for any offworld activity" Weir said.

"The inhibitor that Beckett's got me on, the one that's keeping me lucid? They keep having to up the dose" John said, "I know, they told me" Weir said.

"I don't know how much time I have, but the last thing I wanna do is sit on my...mutating hands, while my team puts their lives on the line trying to find me a cure. I should be with them!" John said.

"No, I'm sorry" Weir repiled, "What's the worst that can happen? I, I..die?" John asked, "You could compromise the mission. They have enough things to worry about.." Weir said.

"Oh, no no...so, what? Suddenly I'm a liability?" John asked, "Your condition can change repidly" Weir repiled.

" I know, and I know I can do this!" John said rasing his voice, "I'm gald..you feel that way. But it would be irresponsible of me" Weir said, "This is my life we're talking about" John said.

"I know that" Weir repiled, "I'm going on that mission" John said, 'No, John! You're not" Weir said, "Damnit!" John yelled.

His face twisted in rage as he turned and smashed his evil fist through the plate glass wall, the Marine pointed his stunner at John and people came into the office, "It's OK! Put it down" I said, "I'm betting that didn't sell you?" John asked.

"No, no, not really" Weir said, "I should go back to the infirmary" John said, "Yes" Weir repiled.

About an hour after John's team left on their mission to save him, I went to our room, an armed guard was standing in front of our door.

"John?" I asked as I walked through, I went to go turn on the lights, "Leave 'em off" John repiled, "What?" I asked, "The lights. Leave the lights off" John said in a harsh voice.

"OK. I thought I should come by and pratice my bedside manner. How are you?" I asked, I moved forward, "My body's mutating into a bug. How are you?" John repiled, "Would you like an update on your team's progress? They found an iratus cave and they've headed in" I said.

"Good" John said softly, "They should locate some eggs and be back here in no time" I said, "No time?" John asked, "Yes" I repiled, "Then what?" John asked, "Honestly? I don't know. Hey? Are you all right? Would you like me to call someone?" I asked, "Who would you call?" John asked.

"If you need to see a doctor" I said, "I need a bigger security detail" John said, "Excuse me?" I asked, I walked within touching distance. "At least two men, stationed at my door, sooner rather than later" John said, "NOw, what are you talking about?" I asked.

"Just turst me, Alex. You're going to need it" John repiled, "Listen, John...if..., he turned sharply and I saw his righ eye has gone all slit-pupiled and yellow-gold. "Oh my god" I finished.

"They need to hurry" John said, "You should be in the infirmary" I said, "The infirmary isn't secure. The inhibitor's only keeping me lucid, it's not slowing the retrovirus" John repiled.

"Still" I said, "DON'T ARUGE WITH ME! I'm not safe to be around anymore. Tell Weir, to get some more men at my door and get the hell out of here" John yelled.

I looked at him one last time before leaving, I turned to the guard, "Radio Doctor Weir and tell her to double the detail" I said. I went into the gym, I saw the punching bag up and started punching it, I couldn't help but think this was all my fault.

I was in the gym by myself for at least 2 hours, before Lorne came and found me. "Alex you ok?" he asked, "Yeah, I'm fine. I need to go see John" I said walking out of the gym to go see John.

I came up to his room and saw the Guard, "I wouldn't go in there, Ma'am" the Guard said, "I'll be fine. John? So this is when I usaually ask you a stupid question, like 'how are you felling?' John? John? Our team got back from the mission" I said.

There was a thump behind me, I turn to see John standing right there, I gasped at the sight of him, the blue/gray ridging has now travelled up into both of his cheeks, ears and has wrapped around his forehead, both of his eyes have now got slit pupils.

"The nest wat to well proteceted. We were unable to retieve the eggs. They tried their best" I finished talking, "Best?" John, "The bugs attacked" I said, "Try again" John said.

"Can't do that" I said, "Why?" John asked, "John" I repiled, "No" he said, "I understand" I said, "If you won't, if you love me, then kill me now" John said.

"John, I couldn't and wouldn't. I would never do anything to risk your life or take your life away" I said with tears in my eyes, "It's better for the both of us" John repiled, "I can't do that" I said.

"Then try again" John said, I stared at him, I shake my head and John suddenly surges forward, grabs me by my throat with his right hand, pushing me backward and pinning me against the wall.

"We lost Walker and Stevens. We can't risk more lifes!", John releases me, I fall to the floor, he walks away and approaches the door, it opens and he runs out, "This is Wilson. We have a security breah! Colonel Sheppard's quarters!" I radio the control room.

They chased John all around the city before they finally got him, Ronon of course got him. He was in the Infirmary, "I put him in a medically-induced coma for now. I was afraid he might break through the restraints" Beckett said.

"That's a good call, Doctor" Caldwell said, "So what now?" I asked, "The retrovirus has wreaked havoc on hi system and it's taking over" Beckett repiled.

"What does that mean?" I asked, "It means if we dont' find a way to stop the tretrovirus in the next twenty-four hours, what's life of the John Sheppard we know will be gone" Beckett repiled.

I went to the gym after spending a couple of hours with John, and of course Lorne was the one to find me. I ran up to him, hugged him and started crying into him. I couldn't stop crying, I didn't want to lose John, I only had 24 hours and Beckett needed to figure this out soon. I knew that there was chance I could lose him forever, I didn't want to think about it, but it was the only thing that was on my mind.

Beckett radioed me and Lorne followed, "I'm sorry, it just came to me. The fact that his mutaion has prgoressed as far as it has may be his salvation" Beckett said, "Explain that" Weir said.

"His sweat glands are actually producing trace amounts of their sigunature pheromone" Beckett said, "And?" I asked.

"When we were in the cave, those bugs knew we didn't belong there, so they didn't really fancy us getting close to their nest" Beckett repiled.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa. I see where you're going with this. If we can artificailly create the pheremone, it might be able to confuse them enough to leave us alone" McKay said.

"Aye, that would work" Beckett said, "Well, that's an excellent plan, Carson!" McKay said, "Aye, I wish it was" Beckett repiled.

"You can't do that in time" I said, "No, it'd take days" Beckett said, "But you said Sheppard only has twenty-four hours befroe the damage the retrovirus was causing him would be irreparable" Weir said.

"Exactly" Beckett said, "Well, then, that's a terrible plan, Carson!" McKay said, "There's only one person on this base that wouldn't need the artificial pheromone" Beckett said, "Sheppard?" Weir asked, "He could walk right in that cave and the bugs wouldn't pay him any mind" Beckett repiled.

"I'm not sure if you've noticed or not, but Colonel Sheppard's not feeling very well" McKay said, "He stopped taking the inhibitor we were administering. It was able to keep him luicd" Beckett said.

"I thought it effectivness has worn off" I said, "True, but I believe if we give him another massive dose, he mayb be clear-headed enough to complete the mission before we lose him completely" Beckett repiled.

"Yeah, but won't giving him that much inbitior, like.." McKay said, "Kill him? Yes, it's a definite possibilty. Even if I know it was for certain, I'd be tempted to offer him one last hour of lucidity" Beckett said.

"Do it. Gear up, take him as far as the cave" Weir said, "I'm going" I said, "No, Alex. You know that John would kill us if we let you get into any harm" Ronon said.

"John? John. Hey. You're in the Infirmary" I said, "Sorry about the headache. It's a side effect of the inhibitor" Beckett said.

"Did I hurt anyone?" Joh asked looking at me, "No, not seriously" I repiled, "Did Ronon shoot me?" John asked, "You had it coming! Look, we don't have a lot of time. This dose of the inhibitor drug will only last about an hour. How would you like to go on a mission?" I asked. I sat there, just waiting all night, I didn't want to think that I would lose the John Sheppard I had fell in love with. The one who always was there for me no matter what, I couldn't lose that John. About 2 hours after they left, the team got back and Beckett got John cured.

"It's not gonna happen overnight, you can bet on that. BUt the transformation has begun to reverse itself" Beckett said, "So eventually he'll be back in uniform?" Caldwell asked.

"Eventually" Beckett repiled, "Well done, Carson, for once again elevating medicine to actual science" McKay said.

"Well, thank you, Rodney!" Beckett siad, "We'll all finally be able to get some sleep. Keep me posted" Weir said.

"We might, uh.." Ronon said, "stay a while" Teyla finished for him, Well, if that's alright" McKay said, "Of course" Beckett said smiling at me. About 3 weeks after Beckett cured John, I was in the gym working out and he walked in and smiled at me.

"John! Should you be up and about?" I asked, "Well, I've been cooped up in that damned Infirmary for a couple of weeks. Give me a break" John said, "You are looking well. Are you feeling mroe like yourself?" I asked.

"Well, according to my DNA, I'm a hundred percent John Sheppard again...although, I gotta say, I'm looking forward to getting rid of this thing one day. Doc says it'll clear up eventually. Ah, so listen. While I've been laying there the past few weeks, I've been remembering things. Some things I might have done that you could call out of character" John said.

I knew what he was talking about but I deliberately misunderstood him, "You mean when you attacked the security detail" I said.

"Yeah, that was one of them" John said, "Yes" I said simling, "There's another thing I should probably apologise for" John said.

"Give it no more thought" I siad, "Good! I won't" John said, "Nice to have you back...John. I love you" I said stepping on my tip toes to kiss him. He kissed me back and it was the John I knew and loved, we went to our room and had mind-blowing sex! We woke up next morning, and smiled at each other, I knew he was back and I was so happy about that. I laughed as he overed over and fell out of the bed, I smiled and started laughing again. I remembered what I asked Beckett when I saw John laying there in the bed, "What the hell happend?" I yelled. I was so arugy, I thought it was Ronon's fault at first, telling him that he should have never let John go off by himself but now I know it wasn't anyones fault. But I was happy to have the man I loved back and that was alright with me.

Chapter 24 We could have had a new ship

About 2 weeks after what had happened with John, we were in the mess hall eatting when Lorne sat down next to me and smiled. I felt John's eyes on me as if I did something while he might have died, I looked up at him and leaned over the table to kiss him. I knew everything was going to be ok, John knew I loved him and only him. Lorne was one of my best friends on Atlantis, before he was in the air force we had gone to school together. We were really close, one night after Tom tried to get one of his friends to hurt me. Lorne came over to make sure I was ok, I kissed him and after that things just weren't the same.

I dropped out of college about 3 weeks later, and Lorne. I didn't know what he was going to do or even if he was still in college, I hadn't know he dropped out of college until he showed up in Atlantis after we got back from Earth. He said he didn't even know I was working here or that I would even be allowed to work on Atlantis. He figured that if I wanted a job, here that they would look around in my backaround and find out about the time I got into trouble because I hacked into the schools system.

I laughed as I looked at John's face when he heard that I hacked into the schools system and changed the lunch menu, "What?" I asked.

"You hacked into ur schools comptuer system to change the menu?" John asked, "Yup, I didn't want to have green beas, I wanted peas" I said smiling. I was still when I saw Ronon walk in. We waved him over to us soon after that, McKay and Teyla had joined us too, I listened to McKay wine about Zelenka thinks he knows everything. Teyla said that she didn't want to spar with Ronon anymore, Ronon saying that it wasn't his fault that the towel fell off the seat and made Teyla fall on her face.

I sat there staring at John as he told McKay to shut up, I wondered how someone like him could want anything to do with a girl like me. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't nostie it when me and John were the only ones left at the table. I smiled up at John as I grabbed his hand. We walked away and back to our room, I ran fast enough to get the shower first. I hated taking a shower after John. Mostly because he always lefted me little hot water, I heard John cussing as I jumped into the shower.

I laughed as I let the hot water run down my back, I smiled knowing that nothing could happen that could take away John from me. Even if things were very unknown in Atlantis because of the Wraith, even with the chance that the IOA might do something to ruin everything I have with John. John was there for me no matter what, he had told me that a million and a half times.

McKay had found a warship so Team Sheppard headed out to go check it out, I didn't need anything more problems with the fact that I was with John so I didn't go on the mission. I got word that my brother Jason had been put on the list to come out here the next time the Daedluas went to earth.

When John and his team got back, they debriefed and I found out that it didn't go according to plan and of course next another thing got in our way to get a new ship.

Chapter 25 What do you mean Ford?

"You're back early" Weir said as me and Lorne walked through the gate room, "Uh, Jenev is kind of a closed society. Very polite and very courteous but completely uninterested in having anything to do with us" Lorne said.

"Well, better that than hostile, I suppose. Colonel Sheppard's team, three hours overdue" Weir said, "Wouldn't be the first time. Any radio contact?" I asked.

"None since they left" Weir said, "Well you know those guys" Lorne said, "What do I know about those guys?" Weir asked.

"Just that they tend to get all caught up in whatever it is they're doing and sometimes they don't check in. They forget how much you worry. That we worry collectively, I mean" Lorne said trying to dig himself out.

"Yes, we do" Weir said, "Yeah. We do. Ok, you guys, it looks like we're headin' back out" Lorne said, "Thank you, Major" Weir said smiling.

"You're welcome" Lorne said, as we headed back to the planet to where John and his team were on. We did all the scans that we could do on the planet and didn't find anything.

"We just finished our scans, ma'am. They're not here" Lorne said through the radio to Weir, "Do you think they're headed to another planet?" Weir asked.

"It's possible, but you know, it's standard procedure to check in and tell us first. They didn't do that, so…" I replied, "They might have been taken off world against their will" Weir said.

"Yeah" Lorne said, "Alright. Can you give me the last few addresses dailled from the DHD?" Weir asked, "Maybe somebody can, but that's a little out of my skill set" Lorne said.

"Alex, get on it" Weir said, "Yes ma'am, Wilson out" I said, I was sitting there under the DHD trying and trying to find something we could use, I stood up and started speaking Russia.

"That good, huh?" Lorne asked, "These things are not designed to store Gate addresses" I replied, "what can you give us?" Lorne asked.

"Well, every time the gate is dialed, a slight residual imprint is left on the control crystals" I said, "Which means?" Lorne asked, "Well, I've managed to mine about fifty addresses, but, no idea if they're correct of what order they wre dialed in" I replied.

"Fifty? That's a lot of planets to check" Lorne said, 'yes, and that's assuming that they're correct" I said.

"Ok, so long story short?" Lorne asked, "It's going to be next to impossible to find Colonel Sheppard and his team based on what I can get from this DHD" I replied.

"Great. Ok, pack it up, let's take what you've got. We'll go over it on Atlantis. Weir's not gonna be happy about this" Lorne said as we dialed home.

Me, Lorne and Weir were in her office talking, "If they were ok, they would have radioed in by now" Weir said, "I that understand that, ma'am" Lorne said.

"I want everyone who is cleared for off world activity to help with the search. The Daedalus is on its way from Earth, then they'll be able to help, but until they get here, it's up to us" Weir said.

"And I know that, but I need you to understand that it is going to take a very long time to search all the planets on our list. It…it could take months" Lorne replied, "We can't afford months, Major" Weir said.

"And I know that too" Lorne said sighing, "good" Weir said, me and Lorne got up and walked up out of the office.

I was up in the control room when the gate was dialed, "Unscheduled activation! It's Doctor McKay's IDC" I said, "Lower the shield" Weir said as we both ran down the stairs.

"I know what I need to do!" McKay said, "Rodney, what's happened? Where are the rest of them?" I asked as the gate closed down.

"There's no time, no time. The planet, not Ford's, the one the, uh, ship's headed towards, we need to get there and we don't have much time. I was barely able to escape myself but I managed to take out the guards. Oh, you should have seen me! I was amazing! I wish we'd got it on camera because…that's not the point" McKay said.

"Rodney, slow down. Are you alright?" I asked, "Yes, yes. I mean, um….I don't know. I mean, I did take out the guards and they were huge and dumb and stupid and" McKay said.

"What guards?" Weir asked, "Ford's guards! Haven't I mentioned Ford?" McKay asked, "No, you didn't, and you haven't even mentioned Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon either" Weir said.

"Yes! They were there too, and there were the two guards. They were huge and massive and I had to take 'em out so I had to inject some of the enzyme" McKay said.

"You took some of the enzyme?" I asked, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I didn't take some of the enzyme. I took a lot of the enzyme, because I had to, because I had to take out the guards, which I did and you should have seen me, I was amazing!" McKay replied.

"Are you insane?" I asked, "yes, yes, now that I've taken the enzyme, yes" McKay said, "Rodney, focus. Where is Colonel Sheppard?" I asked.

"No, no, no I had to take the enzyme because, because I had to take out the guards! But that's not the point, the point is we don't have enough time. We need to stop the ship from getting to where the ship is going" McKay replied.

" Come on, come on, let's take a walk to the Infirmary, alright?" Weir asked, "Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, what are you doing, where are we going? No, no, no, I don't wanna go to the infirmary. I want to go to the, to the, uh, the, umm" McKay said.

As McKay fell to the floor, Weir told Beckett to tell them we were bring McKay to them. About an hour after that, I heard that Caldwell was on Atlantis, which meant that Jason was on here too. I asked Caldwell where Jason was before he headed to the Infirmary.

I found him setting up his room, after he turned around and smiled at me, I was happy that he was here, but at the same time I wasn't happy because what if something happened to him.

After talking for about 3 or 4 hours, I went up to the control room to see McKay there, "Well, look at you" Weir said. "Ah, yes. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as the idiom goes" McKay said.

"You gave us quite a scare" I said, "It was very strange. The whole time I was under the influence of the enzyme, it felt like I was, uh, I was perfectly lucid, eloquent, even. That it was you who wasn't making any sense or listening to reason. I was very peculiar. I think I kind of understand how Ford must have been feeling this whole time" Mckay said.

"Rodney? What happened out there? And where are the others?" Weir asked, "I don't know exactly, but I think I can figure it out. I told you Ford's alive" McKay replied.

"Well, you told me, but I didn't believe you" Weir said, "The man is nothing if not resilient. He's been busy, too. He gathered himself together a little gang, doped them all up on the enzyme. They're the ones that caught us, drugged us and coerced Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon to join them on a mission to destroy a hive ship" McKay said.

"A hive ship?" I asked, "Yeah, they managed to steal themselves a Dart. Like I said, he's been busy. Look, when they didn't return from the mission, I realized something has obviously gone wrong. Now, I have the coordinates to the planet that the hive ship was headed towards to cull" McKay said.

"So if the team is still alive, maybe captured on the ship, there's a chance we can rescue them" Weir said, "Yeah, at the very least we can warn the planet of the impending culling" McKay replied.

"I'll alert Colonel Caldwell" Weir said heading back to office, "Very good" McKay said.

Hours and hours went by before we heard anything from Lorne and Daedalus, "Copy that, Atlantis out." I said as I moved toward Weir's office, "Doctor Weir?" I asked.

"We received word from the Daedalus. They said they should be back to Atlantis by nineteen hundred hours" I said.

"They called the search off?" Weir asked, 'They said there was nothing to search for" I replied, "Thank you" Weir said. I walked into the control room again and then the gate started to dial, "Off world activation!" I said.

"Who is it?" Weir said, "WE have a IDC. It's Colonel Sheppard's code!" I replied, "Let 'em in" Weir said as we both ran down the stairs.

"Sorry we're late" John said, as they walked in, we went to in the Infirmary, "Alright, up you go" Beckett said, McKay and Caldwell walked.

"Why aren't you dead?" McKay asked John, "Ah, it's good to see you too, Rodney" John said, "No, no, I mean, well you know what I mean. Why aren't you dead?" McKay asked.

"Well, I knew when the hives started to shot at each other, it was just a matter of time before the blew each other up, so I went to the space Gate, dialed an address where I could land safely. I didn't think the Dart could fit in our Gate room" John replied.

"The Colonel was kind of enough to make us whole again, and we returned home" Teyla said, "I'm curious, Sheppard, how did you know the Wraith would fight each other?" Caldwell asked.

"Uh, a little intel from Ford in the game, plus, uh, well I kinda goosed things along with the Queen" John said.

"It would appear the Wraith are becoming more territorial then we had thought. There is definite tension building among them" Teyla said, "Which is good for us" Ronon said.

"certainly is. It also opens brand new strategy in fighting them" Weir said, "Hmm! And, and where's Ford?" McKay asked.

"He was aboard the hive ship when it was destroyed" Teyla said, "He was last seen aboard the hive ship" John said, "what does that mean?" McKay asked, "Well you know ford. I would be surpised if we run into him again" John said.

We left the infirmary to go to our room, I turned to John half way there, "Did I tell you that Jason is on Atlantis now?" I asked, "Umm… No" he replied, "Yeah, I guess he wanted to come, I talked to him today" I said.

"That's great, so are you guys good now?" he asked, "Yeah, we are good" I said smiling as we reached our door and John grabbed me and turned me around to kiss me hard. I was happy to have the man I loved back in my arms.

I didn't think I would ever want to leave his arms again but I knew that he had to get up the next morning and do whatever it is that he did when he didn't have a mission. I smiled as we both fell asleep.

The next morning we headed to go get something to eat, when I saw Jason looking for a place to eat, I waved him over to our table. "Jason, this is Lietudent Colonel John Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon and Doctor Rodney McKay" I said, "Nice to meet you guys" Jason said sitting down next to me.

Chapter 26 I'm going to kill you McKay!

A couple weeks after that, John and his team had a mission but so did i. Weir wanted me and Lorne to take Jason on our mission. We had been gone all day, we were on a planet that me and Lorne had been to once or twice before.

"Hello, Major Lorne, Doctor Wilson, so nice for you to visit again" Stephen said as we walked, "its nice to be back again, Stephen, how are you?" I asked smiling, "Good and who is this?" He asked turning to Jason.

"This is Major Jason Wilson" I replied, "Wilson?" Stephen asked, "Yes, he's my brother" I replied. We were on the planet for almost the whole day but when I got back, I heard that McKay was back but no-one else from the team was so I went to go find him talking Weir and Beckett in a room.

"What, you have no idea whether he's injured?" Beckett asked, "The excruciating pain he was experiencing was a result of the temporal differential" McKay replied.

"And what is that, exactly?" Beckett asked, "Ok, the-the- the portal must somehow dampen the extreme tidal forces that would normally occur in the event horizon of a time dilation field, and we were keeping him from passing through it" McKay replied.

"What is going?" I asked, after McKay told me what was going on, he started talking to Beckett again. "So part of his body is experiencing time at a different pace than the other? Who knows what that could do to him?" Beckett asked.

"I have no idea but I suspect he could use a doctor" McKay replied sarcastically, "so don't you know if he's even alive?" Weir asked, "The most time-efficient approach was to assume that he was alive but stranded" McKay replied.

"And why not assume that he'll make his own way back through the portal?" I asked, "Because Colonel Sheppard would have already had hours to try to make it back through the portal in the time I wasted explaining the situation to Conan and Xena!" McKay replied.

"Now, Rodney, that's not very" Beckett said, "No, No, I suppose it isn't. This is McKay. Supplies been loaded aboard yet?" He asked.

"Almost there, sir. Just a few more cases" was said, "Alright, when you're done with that, make sure you assist Zelenka in securing the descent probe into the lauch compartment" McKay said.

"We've loaded weeks of supplies and everything I could think of" McKay said, "What're we not thinking of?" Beckett asked.

"Now take a minute, and be certain. If your theory is correct, you won't be able to make many of these trips" Weir said, "I am painfully aware of that" McKay said, "I remind you only because from what you've told me, rushing is what got Sheppard into trouble in the first place" I said.

"This was not his fault, it was mine. I should have looked more closely at the video. The clues were there before he even steeped through. Look, all I can hope to do now is fix this within his lifetime" McKay said.

"His lifetime?" I asked, "If it takes us a week to ten days to fix this, then it won't matter, because he will probably have died of old age" McKay replied, "Oh my god" Weir said.

"Yeah, hence the rushing, now you ready? You don't look ready" McKay said, "I'm ready" Beckett said, "I need to pick up a few of my books to help with the translation" I said.

"Well we'll pick 'em up on the way and I hope you've got us a real Jumper pilot because I don't trust him, and I can't fly the damned thing in a straight line" McKay said. "I'm going to kill you McKay!" I said for getting John into the mess.

We did everything we could form up in space and we figured out that we couldn't get John from flying into the field so we had to go through it. "You sure it was three seconds?" McKay asked.

"Yes," Teyla said, "And there's twelve minutes of video" McKay said, "yes" Teyla said again.

"Alright so it's a ratio of about, uh" McKay said, "Two hundred and fifty to one. I sent my watch through, along with a letter to Colonel Sheppard telling we are doing our best to rescue him. If you would like to check again, then" Teyla said.

"No, that's good, that's good, that's good, uh, good thinking" McKay said, "Just out of curiosity, what does that mean for Colonel Sheppard in terms of, uh, days?" Beckett asked.

"We're already talking months" McKay replied, "OK, I think I've got it. I am interpreting a bit, but it seems the field was designed as a sanctuary from the Wraith, but a place the last of the Ancients could travel to and hopefully ascend without fear of attack" I said.

"Oh, of course. They could potentially spend entire lifetimes inside the field before the Wraith even discovered the place" McKay said, "And if they ever attacked, their ships would get torn apart just as the probe did" Beckett said.

"And so it has remained for ten thousand years" Teyla said, "This writing here, this serves as a sort of welcome, as well as a warning for any of the humans under their protection looking for sanctuary; but I think it was left there for anyone who wanted to seek the path of ascension of their own" I said.

"And what's the warning?" Ronon asked, "That once you cross the threshold, there's no return" I replied.

"That is, unless you have the exact location of the power source and the expertise to turn it off. Hey, we may even get a ZedPM out of this" McKay said.

"Now you're talking" Ronon said as we all went through the field and started walking, "You know, I was just thinking this entire field, I mean, not the field, I mean the field, field must generate its own day and night cycle, not to mention its own artificial climate. I mean, it's incredible! When you think" McKay said.

"You want to pick up the pace, McKay?" Ronon asked, "Hey, he's waited for months. Another half hour isn't gonna kill him" McKay replied, "Aye, and besides that, I have a date planned with Lieutenant Cadman for tomorrow night" Beckett said, 'Oh, no, so we've only got twelve years in here!" McKay said. As we kept walking, Teyla held her fist up telling us to stop. John came running out of the woods after the beast had taken out Teyla and Ronon at least twice each. McKay and Beckett tried shooting it with their guns but it didn't work.

John saw me after the villagers made the beast disappear, he came up to me and kissed me, I kissed back, forgetting about Ronon, McKay, Beckett and Teyla who were around us. "Umm… Want to stop that now?" McKay asked.

Me and John pulled away from each other and smiled, I didn't really like kissing him with the bread but it was nice to kiss him. I was happy to see that he was alright, physical at least. We walked and walked some more. We finally got to go home, Jason and me were eating dinner while John had to go to his report about the mission. We talked about things that I didn't think we wouldn't able to talk about now that we were both grown-up.

Even though he told why he didn't want to see me or talk to me when I came to visit at the beginning of the year, turns out he was mad about the fact that I just left without so much as a good-bye thanks for being such an amazing twin brother all my life. After I told him that I didn't know I was going to be gone for so long and that I did send that video, but he cut me off and said that's why he forgave me and decided to come out here too.

I went back to mine and John's room and fell asleep, it was nice to have the two most amazing men in my life in the same city with me. I didn't know what I would do without John or Jason around. I was so much in love with John and the thing that scared me was that it was the married and have kids love I felt. I didn't know what John's take on kids were and I wasn't about to ask him anytime soon either.

Chapter 27 a bomb

Me, McKay, John, Weir, and Ronon were in the control room, "Two Wraith cruisers" McKay said, "How far away are they?" Weir asked.

"A day, maybe a day and a half. I've been tracking them for some time now, but, uh, the good news is it doesn't look they're heading this way" I replied.

"Just passing through the neighborhood?" John asked, "Yeah, it looks that way. But I just discovered something rather curious. Short but intense energy burst passing between them" McKay said.

"They're fighting each other?" Ronon asked, "Hmm. In my, uh, expert opinion, yes" McKay replied, "That's good news" John said, "Certainly yes. If there's any change in course at all, let me know" Weir said.

Me, McKay and John were walking through the halls, "Elizabeth's including intel about the in-fighting amongst the Wraith in today's status report" McKay said, 'Let's hope that rend continues. If the Wraith keep fighting like this, might be able to take the weekend off" John said.

"Cadman? What are you doing here?" McKay asked, "Well, it's good to see you too, Rodney" Cadman replied, "No, I thought you were leaving on the Daedalus" McKay said, "Yeah, I was, but something came up. I asked Colonel Sheppard if I could stay around a little while longer" Cadman said.

"Oh, well, that's fine" McKay said, "You Ok with that?" Cadman asked, "Yeah, course it is, why it wouldn't be?" McKay asked.

"Colonel, Doctor" Cadman said, "Lieutenant" John said, "Cadman" I said as we walked past her, "I would think after all this time, you'd stop being creeped out by her" John said.

"She just has a way of getting under my skin. Literally" McKay replied. We went to the control room to get ready for the status report,

"Are we set to dial?" Weir asked, "Almost. Just finishing data compression" McKay said, "stand by" Weir said, "Standing by" I said.

"Data compression's complete. We're good to go" McKay said, "Alright, then. Dial the gate" Weir said.

"Yes, ma'am" I said, I started dialing the gate and then all of the sudden McKay yelled something at me but then I realized it was this.

"STOP!" McKay yelled, "We need to disconnect the ZPM and switch to back-up naqahdah generators to prevent any possible dialing of the Gate to Earth" I said.

"I agree. In fact, as of this moment, all gate activity should be suspended. How many off world teams do we have out there?" Weir asked, "Just Zelenka and his team on M7G-677" I replied.

"Well, unfortunately he's gonna have to sit tight until we sort this thing out" Weir said, "Stuck with all those kids!" John said.

"Is the Daedalus still in range to relay a data transmission back to SGC?" Weir asked, "Yes, they are, uh, holding a position that keeps them in range of both Earth and us" McKay replied.

"Ok, good. And seen a message saying we received their warning and aborted the dialing" Weir said.

"Ask them if they can give us a little more than just There's a bomb in Atlantis" John said, "Maybe The Trust thinks this is the only way to make sure the Wraith don't get there" Weir said.

"Well, it's drastic but effective" I said, "What's the worse is the Trust operative who planted the bomb probably did so under orders from the Goa'uld" Weir said, "What?" McKay asked.

"When did the Goa'uld get involved in this?" John asked, "Several months ago. They successfully infiltrated the upper leadership of The Trust, gaining a stronghold on Earth accessing government agencies from many countries" Weir said.

"What's a Goa'uld?" Ronon asked, "It's a slimy, snake-like alien creature, burrows into people's heads and takes control of their bodies" I replied.

"That doesn't sound pleasant" Ronon said, "It isn't. I've read enough SG mission reports to know I don't want anything to do with them" John said, "I want you to organize some teams to do a search of the city. Start with the obvious sabotage points, power distribution centres" Weir said.

"I'll check primary and secondary systems for any anomalous energy readings that might indicate the presence of an explosive device" McKay said.

"And get Cadman to assist you, she's a bomb expert" John said, "She is?" McKay asked, "She's one of the best, she'll be a big help" John replied.

"Good. Ask Colonel Caldwell to return to Atlantis to assist with the investigation" Weir said, "Who-whoa-whoa, if the Daedalus returns here, then you're effectively cutting off our communication with Earth" I said.

"Yes, I understand that, but if the person who planted the bomb is on board, we're gonna need to question them here, have them reveal the location of the bomb and how to dismantle it. Alright, let's get moving" Weir replied.

I was with John to help search for the bomb, "Colonel Sheppard, how's it going?" Weir asked, "Checking the east pier power distribution centres. Still nothing. We're headed to the west pier now" John replied, "Ronon? How about you?" Weir asked.

"Checking the grounding stations. Also nothing" Ronon replied, "We've got eight other teams out there. It's a big city, it's gonna take a while" I said.

"Understood. Be advised: We got a second message relayed to us" Weir said. It's dialing itself" McKay said.

"I thought it couldn't dial Earth without the ZeePM" Weir said, "Well, it can't!" McKay said.

"Did I just hear right, the gate dialed by itself?" John asked, "Uh, yes, it tried to dial Earth" Weir replied, "Whoever planted the bomb must have devised a programme to upload itself and automatically dial the gate as backup in case the first dialing was halted" I said.

"A very good thing McKay pulled the ZeePM" Weir said, "Rodney?" Cadman said, "What?" McKay asked, "The transmitter" Cadman said.

"Oh, no!" McKay said, "What is this?" Weir asked, "We just started broadcasting a distress beacon. The gate dialed itself in order to draw our attention away from the transmitter!" McKay said.

"Turn it off!" John said, "I am. It's too late. The damage is already done. The two Wraith cruisers I was monitoring, they've-they've-they've-they've picked up the beacon, they've altered their course, they're headed straight for Atlantis" McKay said.

Me and John met Weir and McKay up in the control room, "How long before they get here?" Weir asked, "A day, maybe a day and a half, depending on if they need to make a hyperspace pause along the way. We'll need to cloak to city" McKay replied.

"Uh, even cloaked, the Wraith are gonna wonder where the beacon came from" Weir said, "We need a ruse. Umm… we'll take a transmitter and dump it along with some charred rubble on a beach on the mainland, and they'll think it jetsam that washed up when the city exploded during the siege" McKay said.

"Hang on, back up a second. Let me get this straight. You think our bomb guy did this?" John asked,, "Yes. It'd be easy for him to figure out that the Wraith were in the area. We've been tracking them for a while now" McKay replied.

"So he gets the gate to dial by itself in order to distract us so he can broadcast a distress beacon that'll be picked up by" John said.

"By the Wraith, yes, I believe so" McKay said, "Ok, why?" John asked, "Well, maybe he wants to blow up the Wraith along with the city" Cadman replied.

"Two cruisers. They're insignificant compared to all the hive ships that are still out there" McKay said, "Well, we don't have much time, so whatever the connection is, let's try to figure it out before the cruisers get here" Weir said.

I walked into Weir's office, "Passenger manifest?" I asked, "Yeah" Weir replied, "Any names jump out?" I asked, "A few actually. I hate this, having to suspect one of our own" Weir said.

"Unfortunately the list of suspects may not be limited to the Daedalus" I said, "You think the Trust operative might still be here in Atlantis?" Weir asked, John walked in to finish what I wanted to say.

"Well, with everything that's happened, the gate dialing by itself, the distress beacon" John said, "I don't know, getting themselves blown up along with the city doesn't seem part of their MO" Weir said.

"Well, all it takes is one not to be talked into it" John said, "Wow. Ok. Who around here do you suspect?" Weir asked, 'What about lieutenant Cadman, hmm?" McKay asked.

"What?" John asked, "Hear me out. She's an explosives expert. She was all set to leave on the Daedalus but uh, asked to stay when something came up. She's always around when things happen, when the distress beacon started" McKay replied.

"She's one of the most trusted officers in my command, not to mention the fact that she was stuck in your head for some time" John said, "Do you always have to keep bringing that up?" McKay asked.

"I bring it up because you of all people should know, she'd never do something like that" John said, "Well, maybe she was brainwashed, huh The Goa'uld are very clever when it comes to things like manipulating" McKay said.

"Excuse me. Doctor Weir" Cadman said, "Yes" Weir said, "Flight just confirmed that the Daedalus has landed alongside the east pier" Cadman said, "Thank you" Weir said.

Me and McKay were working out things when we found something, "What have you found?" Weir asked as she came into the control room, "Guess what? Turns out there's no bomb after all" John replied.

"There's no actual explosive device. The explosion will come, but, from somewhere else. Now, with the Wraith on the way, we'll need to cloak the city, right?" I said.

"Yes" Weir said, "Well, in order to do that; we need to reconnect the ZPM in order to supply the necessary power" McKay said.

"And what about the Stargate?" Weir asked, "Ah, I've physically disabled the DHD. It won't be able to dial, so it won't be a problem. Now the ZPM, however, will be. Now as you know, the Zero Point Module controls the flow of massive amounts of power" McKay said.

"Like a dam" John said, No, it's not like a dam, it's more like a…uh…actually yes, it's like a dam. If you overload the damn, it breaks, which is why the Ancients put in place fail safes to prevent such a thing from happening" McKay said.

"Like a spillway" John said, "Could we just stick with fail safes?" McKay asked, "The problem is, our trust operative figured out a way to rewrite Atlantis' operating system and disable the fail safes, but mask it in such a way that the city sensors didn't detect it" I said.

"So the dialing of Earth would cause the ZPM to overload" Weir said, "Oh yeah! And given that dialing another galaxy requires tremendous amounts of power, we're talking catastrophic overload. I mean, the explosion would destroy not just the city, but most likely the entire planet" McKay said.

"Can the fail safes be re-enabled?" John asked, "yes, but, whoever it was who did this anticipated the possibility that it would be discovered and they put in place a code to block access to it" I said.

"And I'm gonna guess that cracking this code isn't gonna be easy" Cadman said, "NO, not at all. It is extremely complicated" McKay said.

"But for now you've already disabled the DHD so it's impossible to dial Earth" Weir said, "yeah, but unfortunately, any number of systems can be used in conjunction with each other, to overload the ZPM. It'd be a much more gradual build-up than dialing the gate, which would cause an instantaneous power spike, but equally as effective in its results" I said.

"And we can't disconnect the ZPM because we need the clack for when the Wraith cruisers arrive" Weir said, "Bingo! This is why our bomber activated the distress beacon, alerting them. And that is how the Wraith coming to Atlantis is connected to detonationg the bomb" McKay said.

A little while after that things started to go from bad to worse but we figured out that the Caldwell who was the Trust operative and we got the code and saved the city once again and the Wraith went bye-bye again.

Me and John walked into Weir's office, "Did you see Zelenka?" John asked, "No" Weir replied, "You should take a quick look before he washes his face. The kids did a real number on him!" John said.

"I asked Doctor Beckett to give everyone on the base a full examination. If Colonel Caldwell could have a Goa'uld in him, any of us could" Weir said.

"It's not a pleasant thought" I said, "No, no it's not. I crossed a line, John, with Kavanagh" Weir said, "You did what you had to do. The good news was, he wasn't hurt" John said.

"Here we are, gloating about the in-fighting among the Wraith. How are we any different?" Weir asked.

I and John were unable to answer her question but I couldn't help but think that we were better than the Wraith, we were out here making things better for the people but the Wraith were killing them, eating them so to speak. I and John headed back to our room after tonight, we didn't feel up to anything at all but sleeping, it was a long day and night for both of us. It was stressful but the good thing was that everything was okay and no one was hurt.

Chapter 28 I'm kind of glad I wasn't here

A week after the bomb insistent, me, Lorne and our team headed out to check up on a planet we were helping after they were culled a couple of months ago. I made some friends in on the planet so I was kind of excited to go back there.

"How are you?" I asked when we arrived at the planet with Doctor Cole, "We are good, thank you for coming" Doman replied. It was very unlike Doman to be nice to me; he was what we called sexist on Earth. He never really liked me, mostly talked to Lorne, Brown and Collin for the most part every time we came here.

I was thinking too much, maybe he turned over a new leaf in his life, ha doubt that. I laughed out loud; "sorry didn't mean to laugh" I said as I realized that Lorne was trying to talk to Doman about his daughter who I guess was very sick by the way Doman looked at me with that sicken face he always gave me.

Lorne pulled me aside to talk to me, "What is wrong with you?" he asked, "Sorry, I was thinking something funny" I replied, "Alex, his daughter is very ill, doesn't know what is wrong with her. Can you at least act like you care?" Lorne asked, "I told you, I'm sorry. Look, I'll go talk to Doman and tell him that I didn't mean to laugh and that I wasn't laughing at his daughter or how sick she is" I replied smiling at the Major. Hopefully, he didn't tell John about this, not that John would have anything to say about it.

Well maybe he would mostly because Doman's people gave us a lot of their harvest, when we first meet them; our first year in Atlantis. I walked over to Doman and smiled at him, "I'm sorry Doman, I didn't mean to laugh and I wasn't laughing about your daughter, I'm very sorry to hear that she is ill" I said hoping that he would accept my sorry and forgive me.

"It is alright, Doctor Wilson, I understand that you were most likely thinking about something else, am I right?" he asked, "Yes, thanks for understanding Doman and Doctor Cole is a really good Doctor and I'm sure she can help your daughter" I replied.

Things were better after I talked to Doman, I was walking around the town when Brown came up to me, "What's up?" he asked, "umm. You know what I figured out that we don't talk that much" I replied, "Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. Usually I just let you and Major Lorne do the talking on the missions we go but I figure that I might as well as make friends with you" Brown said.

"Cool, well how are you?" I asked, even though I already knew that answer, word around Atlantis was that he heard from his sister last month and turns out that his mother was in the hospital and wasn't doing to good. She was very ill and could die within the next two months.

"Well, I'm 3,000 light years away from my family and my mother is in the hospital and might not live until I can get R&R time to go back and see her" Brown replied, "I'm sorry to hear that, Jake but I'm sure she will pull through" I said.

After talking to Brown and getting to know him a little bit better, I was once again walking through the town, talking to old friends that I had made the first time we came here, it was nice to see how these people took so kindly to us and didn't expect too much in return. I was almost sad to see the way the people looked at me with envy that I have never be too badly burned by the Wraith. Sure I had my run-ins with the Wraith but not as badly as these people or the other million people out here in this galaxy.

But what made me feel better was the fact that I knew I was fighting for these people to stop the Wraith and help bring peace to the galaxy, the Ancients never knew how bad it would get if they really did awaken the Wraith. John still felt like it was all his fault that the planets were being culled so much because he was trying to save his people but I kept telling him that it was worth it to bring the people he saved back to Atlantis and gave us a fighting chance against the Wraith.

We headed back to Gate after finding out that Doman's daughter was gonna live, I smiled at him and told him that I just knew she would be alright and that me and Doctor Cole would be back in a couple weeks to check up on her. We dialed Atlantis and stepped through the Stargate.

I went to find John and heard from Chuck that he was in the Infirmary, figuring that he got himself hurt again, I headed down to make sure he was alright. He filled me about how Rodney and the pilot he was with were stuck in the Jumper underwater and after the pilot saved Rodney's life, ended up dying and that he was done there and almost died too. I checked up on McKay to make sure he knew there was no way he could have known this was going to happen. He said he was alright so I and John headed to the mess hall to grab something to eat before heading to bed.

I'm kind of glad I wasn't here for all that. John told me how he thought he almost lost McKay there for a couple of minutes, I knew how good of a friend McKay was to John no matter how many time McKay annoyed or pissed John off.

Chapter 29 Wow, I might have to punch her

Couple weeks after that, John had a mission to trade with some planet and I was working in my lab when Weir radioed me saying that she wanted me up in the control room. I ran up to the control room and saw that the gate was open and John was talking to her about something.

"And you say the Tower looks a lot like Lantean architecture?" Weir asked, "It was overgrown by vegetation but otherwise there was definitely something familiar about it" John replied, 'So the people in the Tower could be Ancients" Weir said, "I don't know. A feudal society doesn't fit the profile. Why would the Ancients wanna lord over a bunch of simple farmers?" John asked.

"I don't know. Either way, we should talk with them" Weir replied, "Agreed. I would like Alex to come here and help if that is possible" John said.

"I'm all geared up and ready to come, John. I'll be there soon" I said, "See you at the gate" John replied. I met John at the gate and walked back to the village with him as he filled me in on what was going on.

"Who are these guys?" John asked as we walked up and saw a man standing in the village centre, cowering before four men in military uniforms. Unlike the villagers, these men clearly come from a more advanced society.

"Soldiers from the Tower" Ronon replied, the leader of the soldiers violently backhands the man, knocking him to the ground. Me, John, Ronon and Teyla rushed towards them.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy" John said, "Who are you?" said the man as he turned to face us, "Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard. Who are you?" John asked.

"I am a constable of the Lord Protector's guard, and this village scum dared to defy me. It's clear we're going to have to make an example" Constable replied.

He took a whip from off his belt, unravels it and prepares to use it on the man, as like we all knew what to do, we drew our weapons and aimed them at the constable. The guards put their hands on their own weapons.

"I don't think so" John said, "Please, Colonel. It's my fault" said the man, "If you think I'm gonna sit here and let you whip an innocent man, you're sorely mistaken" John said.

"Constable. You may stand down. You are the strangers who requested an audiences, are you not?" said another man, "That's us" John said.

He walked towards us and holds up a small device toward Teyla scanning her, then moving on to Ronon, me and John.

"My name is Otho. I have the honor to be chamberlain to the Lord Protector. And you would never be allowed in his presence so armed" Otho said, "Well, I guess we'll have to be on our then" John said.

After scanning me and John and looking up when it beeped, "I'm afraid it's too late for that. Take these two" Otho said.

We turn and see a drone coming down from the sky and seeing it hit a house, "Now, please, turn over your weapons. Some of the people have may not survive the next strike" Otho said.

"Colonel" said the man on the ground pleading, me and John reluctantly lowed our pistols, Ronon looked around to him for instructions and John nodded his head.

Me and John walked, "Just let me do the talking" John said whispering to me, all I could do was nod at him. After we talked to McKay and Teyla and we arrived in the Tower, it did seem almost like the control room of Atlantis.

"You there. Approach" said a man in a chair, "Lieutenant Colonel John Shep" John said, "I know who you are. I saw you in the village" said the man, "You did?" John asked.

"I see all that I need to see within my domain" said the man; he placed his hands on the control pads on the arms of the chair, which reclines. A holographic screen appears above his head, showing live footage from the village.

We gazed up at the screen but we showed little surprise, I look over to see Otho frowning at our lack of shock. We watch as the image zooms in on the rest of our team standing in the middle of the village and talking, though there's no sound from the screen.

"Your friends, they are concerned about you two" the Lord protector said, "Well, um, to be perfectly honest, I'm a little concerned about us too. I mean, um, are we prisoners, right?" John asked.

"A show of force was necessary for the benefit of the villagers. It keeps them from getting ideas. But for the moment I would prefer it if you thought of yourselves as guests" the Lord protector said.

We were put in a room and when I went to bathroom to get ready for bed, I heard that girls voice from dinner, "Well, then, maybe there's something I can do to make you more comfortable" Mora said as I walked out, she was about to take off her robe, "Yo, girl, I think your very mistake if you think Colonel Sheppard wants any part of you" I said and jumped at her.

Mora walked out and I sat down on the bed, "You okay?" John asked, "Yes but wow, I'm might have to punch that girl" I said lying down on the bed. I and John helped ourselves to the bed and the covers and other things that I couldn't say.

Things started to go bad to worse really quick after Beckett showed up, they put us in jail and tried to charge us with something I didn't think we even did. It turned out that it wasn't the son who was trying to kill his father, it was Otho. Go figure it was the one who seemed alright and of course that slut girl Mora tried to get in John's pants and after almost jumping on her and beating the shit out of her. We finally got to go home with some drones.

Chapter 30 I hate you sometimes!

I ended up meeting up with Weir and Caldwell as they headed to the lab to see what was in that John and his team brought back from their mission.

"Doctor Weir, Alex. Oh! Colonel Caldwell! Welcome back!" Beckett said, "Thank you, Doctor. Colonel. What've we got?" Caldwell asked.

"We think it's a life pod of some kind" John replied, "It appears to be designed solely for the purposes of maintaining a single human life in stasis. This one's a female" Beckett said.

"There's another one in a decaying orbit, but, uh, we could only fit one inside the Jumper" John said, "I've already sent Lorne in Jumper Six to recover the second pod. Ronon and Teyla went along to help them locate it" Weir said.

"Ok! I'm ready to creak her open" McKay said coming up from underneath the pod, "Hey" he finished as he saw Caldwell.

"Hello, Doctor" Caldwell smiled at him, "Hmm" McKay said as he pressed something on the tablet and the lid of the life pod slided open. Inside was a very elderly woman in a green uniform. Carson looked at his scanner.

She's alive barely. It appears we found her very near the end. All the major organs are shutting down" Beckett said, "How long was she out there?" I asked, "There's no way to tell for certain" Beckett replied.

"so she could be an Ancient?" I asked, "Uh, the pod design makes me doubt that" McKay replied, "It's a shame she can't speak with us. Just imagine what she could tell us about her people and about what happened to her" Weir said.

Weir looked down at the woman, a while beam shot out of the pod and enveloped Weir, who started to collapse but John and Caldwell catched her in time.

"Elizabeth!" McKay said, "Medical team to Lab Three, stat!" Beckett said, we were in the in infirmary with Weir lying unconscious in bed as Beckett tended to her. Caldwell was standing on the other side of the bed. McKay walked over to John who was standing nearby with me.

"This is not my fault" McKay said, "We were all there, relax" John said, "She's coming around" Beckett said.

John, me and McKay turn and walk over to her bedside, she opened her eyes and looked around at everybody and sat up.

"You ok?" John asked, "Doctor Weir is fine" Weir said smiling, "Doctor Weir doesn't talk about herself in the third person" I said.

"She was simply overcome by the effects of the imprinting" Weir said, "Security team to the Infirmary" Caldwell said, "That's not necessary, Colonel…Caldwell. She is merely harbouring my consciousness" Weir said.

"Oh, here we go again!" McKay said, "And you are?" I asked, "I am Phebus. We are a race of explorers. On our journey home our vessel was attacked" Phebus/Weir replied.

"By the Wraith?" Caldwell asked, "Yes. We were forced to abandon ship and launch our life pods. If this has happened to me, then I've been adrift for some time and the pod has determined my body is beyond resuscitation" Phebus/Weir replied.

"You're quite correct" Beckett said," Then for all intents and purposes I am already dead" Phebus/Weir said, "I'm sorry" I said, "So am I" Phebus/Weir said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're all very sorry. Where's Elizabeth?" John asked.

"She is here also" Phebus/Weir said, "And I suppose you'd like us to take your word for that?" Caldwell replied, "Would you like to speak with her?" Phebus/Weir said.

"Yes, we would" John replied, Weir lowered her head in an uncannily similar movement to someone allowing a host to take over. She falls back against the pillow momentarily. Carson hurried towards her but Weir came back up and held her hand to her head.

"Doctor Weir?" Caldwell asked, "Oh! Oh, its ok, Carson. I'm-I'm fine" She said, "Elizabeth? I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but there's another, um" John said.

"I know. Her name is Phebus" Weir said, "You seem remarkably sanguine about all this" McKay said, "Well the imprinting will only last a matter of hours. The other pod, Phebus urgently desires to be here when we bring the other pod back to Atlantis" Weir said.

"Why?" John asked, "She believes it's her husband" Weir said, "Husband?" Caldwell asked, "He escaped the ship, she's certain of it and, uh the rush of emotions is…it's overwhelming" Weir said.

"I can imagine" John said, "NO, no, you can't "McKay said, "No, I can't" John admitted, "John, I'd like you to try. Phebus has a favor she would like to ask of you" Weir said.

"She wants you to let some alien imprint on you! And you letting it happen?" I asked, "Yes she does and Yes I am" John replied, "I hate you sometimes!" I yelled walking out of the Infirmary to go meet up with Lorne and the rest of my team who had just got back from getting the other pod.

Me, McKay, John, and Caldwell went down to the lab, Beckett, "As I understand it, the beam that hit Elizabeth was part of a failsafe built into the pod system. As cellular failure progressed, the pod stored her consciousness in a sort of flash memory" I said.

"Why? I mean, what good is the technology if the effects are temporary?" Caldwell asked, "It's a black box" John said, "Well, that makes sense. Even if the body is incapable of being revived, the survivor can still report what happened to their ship. The rescue team could interrogate them even if they were incapable of regaining consciousness" I said.

"You're talking about a human flight recorder. That's pretty dark" Caldwell said, "Pretty useful thing in times of war" John said.

"Well, it could also be the means for two survivors to say one last goodbye, hmm?" McKay said, Beckett wheeled Elizabeth into the lab, she stood up and stepped closer to the pod.

"Are you sure she's up for this?" Caldwell asked, "Physically, she's perfectly fine. Besides, Elizabeth wouldn't take no for an answer" Beckett replied.

"Ah, love is a powerful thing, Carson" Weir said, "You're a hopeless romantic, you know that?" John said.

"Well, you're just as hopeless, otherwise you wouldn't have agreed" Weir said. "I've gone for the respective EEG patterns and I can say with some degree of confidence that this imprinting that Doctor Weir's temporary occupant calls it won't last more than a few hours" Beckett said.

"You can guarantee that?" Caldwell asked, "A day at the most" Beckett replied, "Well! I'm sold! Shall we?" McKay said. "And he's still alive. Same as before. Life signs even fainter than the first one. If we're gonna do this, we should do it now" Beckett said.

"I'd prefer if this alien consciousness were armed"" Caldwell said, "Right" John said as he takes his pistol out of its holster and holds it out to me.

"Colonel Sheppard. You'll have to be in close proximity to the pod for the transfer to happen" Beckett said, "Yeah, yeah, I know" John said.

"But you're not moving" Beckett said, "You know, they were husband and wife. Anything could happen" John said, Weir lowered her head, takes a deep breath and raises it again as Phebus takes over.

"I promise to be discreet, Colonel" Phebus/Weir said, "Well, um, I guess I'll see you guys later" John said as he looked at me and smiled, saying with his eyes that he never he shouldn't say around McKay, Caldwell, Beckett, and Weir.

"Have fun!" McKay said. John walked closer to the pod until he was right beside it. He leans forward slightly and the white beam shoots out of the pod and envelops him As the beam dissipate, john tooters, his eyes closed, Carson starts to move toward him and so do I but Phebus/Weir holds out her hand to stop him.

"Give him a moment" Phebus/Weir said, John stands with his head lowered for moment longer, then his eyes open and his head snaps up and he stares at Elizabeth.

"Thalen? It's me" Phebus/Weir said, "Phebus?" John/Thalen asked, "It's alright, these people recovered our pods. We may well be the very last of our kind. These generous people have allowed us to be together one last time" Phebus/Weir said.

"You consented to this?" John/Thalen asked, "One last chance, to say goodbye to my husband" Phebus/Weir said, she seizes her head and kisses him deeply. Sheppard/Weir shipper squeals loudly enough to break several windows. Carson blinks a couple of times, and then looks away diplomatically. Caldwell, looking a little startled also looks away. I stared at it like I was gonna cry but I knew it wasn't really John and Weir.

"It's not what I expected" John said, "I know this body is different but I assure you, Thalen, it's me. Is it possible for us to be alone, just for a few minutes?" Weir asked as I walked out and went to the control room.

I was of course taking care of the problem from up in the control room when McKay, Beckett and Caldwell came down the stairs, "Report?" Caldwell asked, "We just lost contact with Major Lorne" I replied.

"Alright. I want all non-essential personnel to return directly to their quarters and remain there until notified. The only people I want moving through the city are my security teams" Caldwell said. "Sir" I said, "We may be able to track their progress using the life signs detectors" McKay said, "How? They'll read as human. We won't be able to differentiate" Beckett asked.

"Security teams travel in groups of two or more. They'll be the only individual signals travelling through the city. Let's go!. What are you waiting for?" Caldwell asked.

"Uh, look, I don't wanna get all, uh, chain of command on you here, but, um, I am a senior member of this expedition, so with Elizabeth and Colonel Sheppard out of the equation, then" McKay said.

"I'm in charge" Caldwell said, "No, no, no, no. See I-I don't think that's technically true; because you are here for like, what, about one week out of six. That doesn't" McKay said.

'Is it possible that because I was host to a Goa'uld, you don't trust me, Doctor?" Caldwell said interrupting, "I didn't say that" McKay said.

"I'm the highest ranking military officer here, and this is clearly a military situation. Does that clear things up for you?" Caldwell asked, "Fine!" McKay said, I was sitting there with Chuck when we started hearing Weir and John talk through the radios.

"Sir, I'm picking up some chatter I think you'll want to hear" I said, "Put in on speaker" Caldwell said, "You're the one that likes to run. My ship ran out of fuel before I could even get a clean shot" John/Thalen, "That was my plan" Weir/Phebus replied.

"You didn't have a plan. You just wanted me dead" John/Thalen said, "Still do. As a matter of fact, I can't wait to see that look of defeat on your face, just one last time" Weir/ Phebus said.

"You mean the look on my face when you rammed my fighter, making sure neither one of us would win? That was hatred, not defeat, Phebus" John/Thalen said.

"Is that any way to talk to your wife? Thalen? Run all you like. The moment I find out, you die" Weir/Phebus said, "Well they're heading straight for divorce" Beckett said.

"That whole thing was a ruse, in fact, I doubt very much if we were ever speaking with Doctor Weir" I said, 'It was a remarkable impression, I'll give you that" McKay said.

"From the sound of it, we have two fighter pilots who don't know that their war is over" Caldwell said, "It is much worse than that. They know everything about this city, the layout, defensive systems, how to access weapons" McKay said.

"We just need to find a way to stop them without unduly harming the hosts" Caldwell said, "Unduly? What does that mean?" I asked.

"Well, obviously, some force may be necessary" Caldwell said, "We should contact any teams that may be off world, let 'em know that we're suspending all Gate activity until further notice. We're going to full alert status" I said.

"I think I just located one of them near the power room" McKay said, "What happened?" Beckett asked as all the lights went out.

"The whole city just went dark! Oh, tell me you had someone guarding the power room?" I asked, "Two marines from Daedalus. Hutchinson, this is Caldwell, report? Where's auxiliary power?" Caldwell asked.

"Naqahdah generators aren't kicking in. He or she must have damaged the back-ups" I replied, "We've lost everything?" Caldwell asked.

"Shields, communications, long range and biometric sensors" I replied, "The sensors from the Daedalus we can contact them" Caldwell said.

"Subspace communications are also down" I said, "I need for you to get down to the Power Room, Doctor. Restore primary systems" Caldwell said.

"I should go along too. Marines could be hurt" Beckett said, "Exactly! Marines may have been injured. We can't go down there!" McKay said, "I will send two of my people along with you just in case" Caldwell said.

"Well, how do we know that Sheppard isn't down there waiting in ambush?" McKay asked, "Because he's not trying to kill us, he's trying to kill Doctor Weir" I said, "Oh that is so much more comforting!" McKay said.

"This is not a request, Doctor McKay! Let me know the moment you have a damage assessment" Caldwell said, "Go!" McKay said.

McKay went to go check it out and I stayed up in the control room to help Caldwell, I wanted to go after John but I didn't think that Caldwell would let me. I just had to buy my time and wait until the time was right than make my case.

"Who called in the man down?" Caldwell said, "I don't know, sir, but it sounded like Colonel Sheppard" I said.

"Alright. Send in a medical team. Tell them to be careful not to walk into an ambush" Caldwell said, "Listen, I think I should go after John, It would help, I could talk him down somehow. I know I can" I said. "Go!" Caldwell said.

I was on my way to go find John when I kind of ran into Weir/Phebus, she was shooting at me with a P-90 and I couldn't decide to keep trying to find John or go back to the Control room so I radioed Caldwell and asked what I should do. He said that I should just come up to the control room again. I got to the control room when Weir/Phebus radioed us.

"Caldwell. Can you hear me?" Weir/Phebus asked, "Go ahead" Caldwell replied, "By now you're aware the city is entirely under my control, and there are several bulkhead doors between me and your nearest search teams. You can't possibly get to me" Weir/Phebus said.

"Yes, we're well aware" Caldwell said, "I'm sure Doctor McKay and Doctor Wilson believes they can override my command code and it's possible in a matter of several hours he could, but I don't have that kind of time" Weir/Phebus said.

"We'd be more than happy to wait this out" Caldwell said, "Now who knows what kind of trouble I could cause with life support while I wait?" Or maybe I'll just send a signal to the Wraith, like you did" Weir/Phebus said.

"What do you want?" Caldwell asked, "I want Sheppard" Weir/Phebus replied, "Well, I'm sorry I can't help you with that. Is there something else I can do for you?" Caldwell asked.

"Don't screw with me, Caldwell. At the very least, I can kill Weir. When you get him, contact me" Weir/Phebus said.

"Colonel Caldwell. We have three signals on two separate floors at the base of the tower" I said, "Weir has to be one the one in the science Lab, which leaves these other two over here" Caldwell said, "The other one is Teyla" Chuck said, "This one is Sheppard" I said, "How do you know that?" Caldwell asked.

"I can sense his signal from the ATA gene" I replied, "Teyla, this is Caldwell" he said, "I was unable to capture Doctor Wier" Teyla said.

"So were a lot of people. Weir's put the city under a lockdown. I want you to go after Sheppard. You and he have been locked in the same section. He's one floor up" Caldwell said, "I will contact you as soon as I have him. Teyla out" Teyla said.

We were waiting and then Teyla radioed us that she had John, "Caldwell? Do you have him or not? I'm losing patience" Weir said, "I'm working" McKay said.

"We're working on it" Caldwell said, "I don't buy it, Colonel" Weir said, "I'm telling the truth" Caldwell said, "Oh, please! Even Weir thinks you're hopeless. She can't hide it" Weir said.

"We're close" Caldwell said, "We're not close" I said, "I have found an interesting way of rerouting your new halon fire suppression system all the way from Hazmat storage to personnel quarters. Now, that's where the majority of your city's populations is holed up, isn't it?" Weir/Phebus asked.

"You know it is" Caldwell said, "Ironically, Doctor Weir was concerned when the system was installed that halon gas extinguishes people as well as fires. So, shall we take it to the point that I start counting down from an arbitrary number?" Weir/Phebus asked.

"we have him" Caldwell said, "I thought you might. There's a new security camera on the northern-most stairwell of that part of the tower. I want him taken there so that I can see him kicking and screaming if possible" Weir said.

"Teyla, we've been requested to put the Colonel in front of the nearest security camera" Caldwell said, "I'm doing that right now, Colonel" Teyla said, "I'm not surprised that you're the only one that managed to get to him" Weir/Phebus said to Teyla.

"What do you want?" Teyla asked, "we're just gonna wait until he regains consciousness" Weir/Phebus said. We made sure that we were off radio so we could take about what we needed and could do.

"Are you making any progress?" Caldwell asked, "Yes" McKay replied, "Really?" Caldwell said unconvinced, "I would just like to state for the record that it is astounding to me that once again, I find myself in a position of having to save this city when you and your…space marines can't figure out how to track down two people" McKay said.

"They're two people with the skills and resources of Doctor Weir and Colonel Sheppard, who probably know this city better than anyone else. And also for the record, I was against this from the very beginning" Caldwell said, "yes, y…Yes you were" McKay said, "Thank you! Please continue" Caldwell said.

I was in front of my laptop hooked up to the cameras, when John came on one of them, I zoomed it in to where that was the only one I saw. "Sir, I have Colonel Sheppard on my screen" I said.

"Wrong again. Still hatred" John/Thalen said, "I guess I'm satisfied with this. Teyla?" Weir/Phebus asked.

"Yes?" Teyla asked, "Kill him" Weir/Phebus said, I blinked back tears as I saw Teyla stare in shock, "Don't listen to her" John/Thalen said, "Kill him now, or I vent halon suppressant into all the living spaces in Atlantis" Weir/Phebus said.

"McKay?" Caldwell said, "I know, I know. I'm almost done here" McKay said, "Colonel, can she do this?" Teyla asked.

Caldwell looked at me, "Yes. She's created a shunt between the fire suppressant system and life support" I said, "I believe so" Caldwell said, "How many people are at risk?" Teyla asked.

"Three-quarters of the expedition" Caldwell replied, "Why are you doing this?" Teyla asked turning to the camera, "I have spent my entire life at war with his world. Thousands have died with no hope for victory, both sides reduced to mere handful of fighters. If he really is the last then in the end my people will have won" Weir/Phebus replied.

"Don't believe her" John/Thalen said, "Believe me when I say I have absolutely nothing to lose. IN a very short time, I will feel excruciating pain, this body will convulse and I will cease to exist. That's what I ahead for me. All I can hope for now is to achieve victory for my people" Weir/Phebus said.

"Phebus, you people are long dead. Who lost or won a war so many years ago does not matter" Teyla said, "It matters to me" Weir/Phebus said. I turned to Caldwell, "As soon as McKay overrides her code, I'm going to go down there" I said.

"I've got it! I'm overriding her code now" McKay said, "Are you sure?" Caldwell asked, "It's done! Go!" McKay replied.

"Teyla, this is Caldwell. Do not fire! I repeat, do not fire!" Caldwell said, I got to the room where John and Teyla were before anyone else, "You're never gonna believe me, so…I'm not even gonna try" John/Thalen said as I walked in, I ran up to Teyla and got down on my knees.

"Stand away from him and up against the wall" Weir/Phebus said, 'He is unconscious" I said as I saw John close his eyes, "I don't know how many bullets I have left in this thing, or I would have already shot you! I said back off! Unconscious or not, I wanna see his face" Weir said. The Wraith stunner I gave John was in his hands and he popped up and shot her.

She convulsed and collapsed to the floor, I kicked the stunner out of John's hands, Lorne and some other marines ran in, "You two alright?" Lorne asked, "yes it is over" I replied.

"Sorry we took so long. We got stuck in that damned corridor for two hours" Lorne said to Teyla, "Call a medical team and have them both taken to the Infirmary" I said, "You got it. This is Lorne. I need a medical team to my location" Lorne said.

"How'd you know it was me?" John asked, "I still do not. Keep his hands bound until Doctor Beckett tells you otherwise" Teyla replied.

"Well, if you didn't know, why'd you let her give me the stunner?" John asked, "Because you would have shot her either way" Teyla replied. I was sitting by John's bed all night until Thalen finally let go and left John's mind.

"What is going on?" John asked, "Thalen finally decided to let go" I replied smiling, "Finally! Please tell me that he didn't try and get you to believe anything?" he asked, "No he didn't, I was on my way to track you down after Weir shot Ronon when I ran into Weir and she started shooting at me. I was pinned down for a while, I didn't know where you were so I went back to the control room" I said.

It was morning by the time Phebus finally let go, Weir started to wake up, "Good morning!" John said, "Good morning" Weir said, "What's her-name sure hung in there for a while" John said, "When when did she?" Weir asked.

"Some time in the middle of the night, kicking and screaming" John said, "Yeah, well that was the strangest feeling, you know?" Weir asked.

"The entire time I was shouting to everyone, but nothing I wanted to would come out my mouth" John nodded in agreement, "I know. It was a real nightmare. Especially when you shot Ronon" he finished.

"Oh god! But I wasn't" Weir said, "I know, I know. It was her" John said, "How is he?" Weir asked, "He's fine. Teyla and Rodney just went to see him in post op" John said.

"Did they believe you were…you?" Weir asked, "To be honest, I think the only people who believe one hundred percent are Beckett, you, Alex" John replied, "And me" Caldwell said.

"In fact, I can safely say that I know how you feel" Caldwell said, "Yes, Sir!" John said, "Thank you Colonel, for keeping a potentially explosive situation under control" Weir said.

"Yeah, well, it was a lot closer than I would like to admit" Caldwell said, "For what it's worth, uh, Mckay says you did a good job" John said.

"Did he? Well….maybe there's still hope for me yet!" Caldwell said, "Oh god, no! Don't believe anything she might have said!" Weir said after remembering what Phebus said to Caldwell.

I'm kidding. Don't give it another thought. Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm sure you'll both agree that the paperwork on this is going to be nightmares especially that kiss" Caldwell said.

John and Weir stared at him in horror and John turned to me and thought I would leave but I understood that it wasn't him and Weir.

"Yes, sir" John said, "Well, try not to kill each other while I'm gone" Caldwell said. After that, Beckett came in saying that they looked good and they could get out of there. I walked with John without talking until we got to our room, John laid down and stared at the ceiling, we didn't talk or do anything really, just kind of sat there and looked at different things. We really didn't know what to say.

John was happy enough to just go to bed and not talk about the day before and the events that had happened. I was happy enough too, I didn't have to track down my boyfriend and stun him but I did see one of my good friends get shot and I saw Phebus try and play around with peoples head and say she was going to kill after of the city's people with halon fire.

It was awkward in the end for John and Weir to finally talk about it and get past the fact that they kissed even though they don't have any feelings for each other. They ended up getting over it and starting to become the same people they were before it happened.

Chapter 31 Oh My God!

Being a part time member on Lorne teams on some ups and downs to it, like when John and his team got called to help them out, that was an up, well that's what I thought at first until I saw John and body bags.

"What the hell happened out there?" Weir asked, "As you know, Lorne and his team had the weekly detail escorting Doctor Lindsay to 177" John replied, "yes, the one who was educating the people on more effective agricultural and fishing methods" Weir said.

"Yeah, that's right. Things were going along smoothly until our guys were attacked" John said, "Just like that, out of the blue?" I asked, "It seems that way" John replied, "By whom? The villagers?" I asked.

"I don't know. Lindsay's not a real useful source of information right now. She's a little shook up. Beckett gave her a sedative. Hopefully she'll be able to give us more info later" John said, "Unscheduled off world activation" Chuck said.

"What have you got?" Weir asked, "No IDC, but we are receiving a pretty weak transmission on the VHF band. Audio and Video" Chuck replied, "Let's see it" John said.

A slightly blurry image appears on the large screen behind the Chuck, the face is somewhat familiar to me, and he was Genii who took over the base in during the storm. "Atlantis Base, this is Ladon Radim. Are you receiving transmission?" Ladon asked, "It's one of Kolya's men" John said.

"Yeah, I know who he is. We can't answer this, though. I need the Genii of all people to believe that Atlantis has been destroyed" Weir said, 'I know we got the word out" John said.

"My men have witnessed your teams dialing and returning through the Stargate to Atlantis more than once. From that I can deduce that the rumors of your city's demise are greatly exaggerated" Ladon said.

"Sneaky, I'll give 'em that" John said, "You're secret is safe as long as you respond to this transmission" Ladon said, "Open a channel" Weir said, "Atlantis base, this is Ladon Radim" Ladon said, "We hear you. This is Weir" she said, "Doctor Weir. I was beginning to fear the rumors of your destruction were true" Ladon said.

"What do you want?" Weir asked, "I have something to trade" Ladon replied, "Don't think I don't recognize you, Ladon. You're a member or Kolya's strike force. You tried to forcibly take this city from us. Why would we wanna do business with you?" Weir asked.

"Because I have defected from the Genii" Ladon said, "Well, good luck with that!" I said, "And I have a Zero Point Module" Ladon said.

"And I have a tentative truce with the Genii that I'm not very eager to jeopardize" Weir said, "The Genii got what they wanted. They want no more from you and this is of no use to me. But I know how important these devices are to your continued survival. Now we can discuss this in person. Lower your shields and allow me safe passage into the city" Ladon said.

"We're not interested, Ladon" Weir said, "This is far, far better than the last trade you made with the Genii, Doctor and you know it. I'm transmitting the Gate address to the planet I'm on. you can send a team to search me if you wish, but I am unarmed and alone. I'll be here for two hours. If I don't hear from you within that time, this Zero Point Module will be lost to you forever" Ladon said.

"A ZPM is a ZPM. Who cares where it comes from?" I asked, "We've already got one" John said, "yes, one" McKay said, "Two's better than one" Ronon said, "And three is than two. Look, we all know that eventually the Wraith are gonna discover we're still here. Having more power means that we have more options. We might even be able to light ip the engines and get the city to fly" McKay said.

"Really?" John asked, "No, but we still need it" I replied, "Well, flying city or not, I think we should consider this" Weir said.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't you the one the Genii threatened to kill on two separate occasions?" John asked, "He says he's alone and he's willing to be searched" Weir replied.

"Wait a minute. We should be dealing with Lorne and his team, find out what happened to them" John said, "Teyla and Ronon will continue with that investigation, and you can join them once you finish up with this" Weir said.

"Alright. Get a MALP ready with a life signs detector. I'm not sending my team in there blind" John said, I was working with John until I went to go help Teyla and Ronon.

"I'm getting telemetry back from the MALP" I said, "I'm only reading one life sign" McKay said, "Then so far he's telling the truth" Weir said, "So far" John said.

Ladon walks towards the MALP, kneels down in front of it and puts his hands on his head, "As I'm sure your machine has already determined, I am unarmed and alone. You can go ahead and send your team to search me" Ladon said, "Go ahead" John said.

Ladon and the security team came through the gate, we walked up to Ladon after they said he was clean, "What no ZeePM?" John asked, "I sent it to another planet for safe keeping, how stupid do you think I am?" Ladon asked, "From what I remember, I gave you a pretty good crack on the head last time we met, so I was kind of hoping it made you simple" John replied, "No, it didn't…but ever since then I've been plagued with headaches" Ladon said.

"You're just saying that to be nice. What do you want for it?" John asked, "I'll only talk with Weir" Ladon said, "Do I make you nervous?" John asked, "Not at all, Major. I'm just not interested in talking to the errand boy" Ladon replied.

"That's lieutenant Colonel Errand Boy to you" John said, John took him away and I went to go to the Infirmary to start helping with trying to find out what happened to Lorne and the rest of my team. "It's not them" Beckett said.

"What do you mean?" I asked, "These bodies you found are not Lorne and his men" Beckett replied, "But they were wearing their dog tags" I said, "I don't know what to tell you. I've run the DNA tests three times now" Beckett said.

"Then Lorne and his men could still be alive" Ronon said, "Doctor Lindsay heard Wraith Stunners before the fire broke out" Teyla said, "But this wasn't a Wraith attack, so" Weir said.

"So whoever it was wanted us to think they were dead" Ronon said, "then who? What could they possibly want with Lorne?" I asked.

"We need to go back. Question the villagers" Ronon said, "Ok. But regular radio contact, please" Weir said as we headed out.

We were asking questions left and right, we were in a bar, "Never heard of her" the barkeep said, "Are you certain? Deera, she was friends with the men who were killed last night" Teyla said, "I said I never heard of her" the barkeep said.

"This is a small community, friend, surely you know her? She lived in the house that burned down. We would just like to ask her some questions" Teyla said, "I just tend to my bar and my family. I mind my business and I suggest you do the same" the Barkeep said, "We wanna know why our friends were killed" Ronon said as he slapped a hand down on his left shoulder, then leans over his right shoulder while draping his arm around the man's left shoulder.

"Ronon" I said, "He knows something. Everyone here knows something" Ronon said, "let him go" I said, "Who are you trying to protect?" Ronon asked.

"if you know what's best for you, you'll go back from where you came. They're watching us. They'll kill us all if you're not careful" Said the barkeep, "Who?" Ronon asked.

"We can protect you, help you fight them" Teyla said, "No you can't. Leave me be" said the barkeep, we were walking away and I really just wanted to find out what happened to them.

"I hope Beckett found some sort of clue, cause this was a giant waste of time" I said, the girl who was serving behind the bar called out to us, "Excuse me? You- you left this behind" she said.

"it's not ours" Ronon said, "yes it is" she said, "Of course. How foolish of me. Thank you" Teyla said, "What's inside?" Ronon asked.

"Not here" Teyla said, and we walked down a ally, "What is it?" I asked, "I do not know. These are pictures of some of the Atlantis off world team members" Teyla replied.

"There" Ronon said, "Major Lorne! Why would the villagers have these?" I asked, " The writing on the side here is in a bunch of different languages, offering a great reward for their capture. I bet they've been circulated to dozens of planets" Ronon said.

I took two more pictures out of the bag and seeing who it was, "I hope you are wrong" I said, we came back through the gate to see a bunch of Genii sitting around the Gate room.

"How did it go?" Weir asked, "What did we miss?" Ronon asked, "We have some guests" Weir replied, "yeah, I can see that" Ronon said.

"Doctor Weir, there is something you need to see" Teyla said, "Let's go to my office. What's all this?" Weir asked.

"It's a wanted list. We figure it's on as many worlds as there are languages on the photos" I said, "Who would do that?" Weir asked, "We aren't sure, but the planet where Lorne's team disappeared is quite poor. It is conceivable they gave up Lorne and his men for some sort of reward" I said.

"To who?" Weir asked, "And why aren't we on it?" Ronon asked, "Excuse me?" Weir said, "Sheppard's on the list; McKay is on the list. Why aren't Teyla, Alex and me?" Ronon asked, "What, you're feeling left out?" Weir asked.

"I just wanna know who thinks I'm not a threat and give 'em a chance to change their mind" Ronon said, "The gene. They all have the gene" Weir said, 'The gene of the Ancestors?" Teyla asked.

"Yes. Naturally or not, all these men possess the ATA gene" Weir said, "But why would someone want people simply because they possess a certain kind of gene?" Teyla asked.

"Maybe they think it will hurt our ability to operate the city. But Ronon, that's why you're not here. See? Most of Edison's team is on the list except Toreil. He's the only one on that team that doesn't have the gene" Weir said.

"Still doesn't make any sense" Ronon said, 'I suggest you call these men back if they are off world" Teyla said, "Yes. And most of these guys are on an operation with Sheppard right now. We are raiding Ladon's warehouse and stealing back the ZeePM. We detained most of his team when they came here to pick up the weapons we offered them. Once Sheppard and the team get back, I will suspend all their off world activity until we can get to the bottom of this" Weir said.

"Doctor Weir, Please report to the Infirmary" Beckett said, "On my way, Carson. This is probably about the bodies. You three should come along" Weir said.

"I think I know who's behind this" Beckett said as we walked in, "Ok" Weir said, "Whoever these bodies belonged to, they didn't die in that fire" Beckett said, "They died before they burned?" Teyla asked, "Aye, mostly from internal bleeding and breakdown of the bone marrow" Beckett said.

"What does that mean?" I asked, "It means they probably died of severe radiation poisoning. Now form what I know, there's only one race of people that could possibly be exposed to the amount of radiation that would cause this kind of damage" Beckett said, "The Genii" I said.

"Aye, exactly" Beckett said, "If the Genii are behind this" Teyla said, "We need to call back Sheppard's team" Ronon said.

We were up in the control room about to call back John and the rest of the men that was with him, "Unscheduled off world activation!" I said, "What have we got?" Weir asked.

"Not sure yet, ma'am. I'm not reading an IDC" I replied, "Doctor Weir, This is commander Cowen, leader of the Genii" Cowen said, "Where is Colonel Sheppard?" Weir asked.

"He's right here with me, along with the men you sent to storm this complex. Some would view that as an act of war" Cowen said, "We were just trying to quell your rebellion before it started" Weir said.

"I think we both know what your intentions were, Doctor. And now it's time you became aware of mine. I will release your men, but I expect something in return" Cowen said.

"We have twelve of your own: How about a straight trade?" Weir asked, "The Genii you've imagined as your potential hostages are terminally ill. They volunteered for the mission. They knew they were never coming back from the moment they heard my plan" Cowen said.

"Why are you doing this?" Weir asked, "The Genii people need the Lantean ships you call Jumpers. I believe you have ten of them. You have one hour to bring them all here" Cowen said, "And if I don't?" Weir asked.

"We will kill one of your team every fifteen minutes until our demands are met. Oh, and we will be starting with Colonel Sheppard" Cowen said as I stepped back almost falling over.

"Lieutenant Miller performed a cloaked scan of the planet. It looks like the Genii have moved in a massive amount of troops over the past fifteen minutes. I'm afraid they have us greatly outnumbered. Any attempt to extract our men would result in many casualties on both sides" I said, "Let me get in there and see what I can do" Ronon said.

"No. The last thing I need is for more of us to fall into their hands. How are our Genii guests doing?" Weir asked, "Well, they have a number of different symptoms and ailments, but they all trace back to one thing: radiation poisoning" Beckett replied, "Well McKay warned them that the shielding for their fission experiments was dangerously insufficient. I guess they didn't listen" I said.

"Aye" Beckett said, "Can you cure them?" Weir asked, "There are some experimental treatment protocols I've been able to get my hands on, although some of them are just too far gone to do anything but pain management, but I do believe I can save at least eight of them" Beckett said.

"Alright. Let's hope they will trade their people for ours" Weir said, "Do we have a back-up plan?" I asked.

"We're not handing ten of our Jumpers over the Genii. Let's just hope this works. I don't think you understand. Most of your people can be cured, including Ladon's sister" Weir said as she talked to Cowen again, "Oh, I understand. What you need to understand is, I don't care" Cowen said.

"What?" Weir asked, "I think you're playing for time, Doctor Weir" Cowen replied, "Your people can be cured. Now let me return them to you and let them live out the rest of their lives with their families on their home world" Weir said.

"The Genii need those Jumpers. Until you are prepared to part with them, this conversation is over" Cowen said, "You kill one of my people and we are in a state of war" Weir said.

"Oh, yes, yes! I well; I don't quite know how I'll live with myself! I will contact you again in fifteen minutes, so you can decide whether you would like Doctor McKay to live. In the meantime, you have forfeited the life of Colonel Sheppard" Cowen said, "Cowen, wait!" Weir said but he didn't reply, she looked over at Chuck who shook his head.

"Anything?" Weir asked, as she walked into the control room, we're still connected, but he's turned the radio off. I'm not getting any signal" I replied, "Damn it! Elizabeth, what if we offered them one Jumper in exchange for Colonel Sheppard?" Beckett asked.

"Carson, we have less than fifteen minutes before they kill McKay" Weir said, "You can deliver all the Jumpers you want. They're gonna kill everyone. We need to attack them now" Ronon said.

We were sitting there waiting, when we got a IDC, "Receiving Doctor McKay's IDC" I said, "Defense teams, stand by! Lower the shield, Rodney!" Weir said as we both ran down the stairs.

"It's Ladon. He's letting us go in exchange for his people" McKay said, "Ladon's in charge?" I asked, "Yeah, he's about to be" McKay replied.

"He really was planning a coup" Weir said, "Apparently, we're a part of the plan" McKay said, John and Ladon walked through the gate, "Shield up" John said. "Now, please, would like to see my sister" Ladon said.

Me and John walked into Weir's office, "The coup was successful. Ladon Radim is the new leader of the Genii" John said, "Wow that was fast" Weir said.

"Well, once people found out Cowen and his elite guards were out of the picture, his loyalists laid their weapons. They're billing it as a bloodless coup because no one died on their home soil" John said, "So a nuclear explosion and the lives of an entire battalion of men don't count?" Weir asked.

"yeah, it's all spin. What'd you think the fallout's gonna be?" John asked, "Well, historically, most coups end up with the new government being about as bad as the old one" I replied.

"I don't know. He seemed pretty grateful we saved his sister" John said, "There's that" Weir said, "He did save me and my team" John said, "There's that too" I said.

"So I say we call it a win" John said, 'Who's spinning now?" Weir asked, "Alright. Then I say we call it night" John said as we start to leave, "That we can do" Weir said as me and John left to go to our room. We walked hand in hand to our room, we were smiling all the way there, when we got to our room, John jumped into the shower as I got dressed for bed. I was lying down in bed when John got out of the shower and kissed me. I smiled and kissed him back, we ended up getting all our clothes off and having really hot sex! We were lying in bed and trying to fall asleep.

John hadn't talk much about what had happened and either one of us really wanted to so we just fell asleep. I love him with all my heart and I knew that I wanted to have a family with him one day but if we lived in Atlantis, the thought about the Wraith showing up here and hurting me, hurting our children would kill John more than me being hurt.

Chapter 32 I told you it was a bad idea

John, Weir, McKay and Beckett had a great idea, or what they thought was a great idea to get a Wraith and make him human, I tried to tell John that I didn't think it was a good idea but he didn't seem to want to listen to what I had to say. I think he was just thinking that it would be a good idea so we can find a way to beat the Wraith.

I meet Weir at the ICO room to see how Michael was doing. "Blood pressure's fine, pulse normal. You're bouncing back quite nicely" Beckett said, "Bouncing back from what?" Michael asked.

"Hullo, Michael. Do you remember me?" Weir asked, "No" Michael replied, "I'm Doctor Elizabeth Weir. This is Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard and Doctor Alex Wilson" Weir said.

"You serve under my command" John said, "Do you know where you are?" I asked, "I don't even know who I am!" Michael replied.

"Your name is Lieutenant Michael Kenmore. You're a private room off the Infirmary here in Atlantis" I said, Michael lifts his head as if he recognizes that last word, "Is that familiar to you?" I asked.

"Atlantis, Yeah, I think" Michael replied, "You're a member of a team that went off world. You were captured by the Wrath" John said, Michael looked away as if lost in thought.

"I see you remember the Wraith" Beckett said, "What did they do to me?" Michael asked, "We're not quite sure yet" I replied.

"We sent a rescue team for you but, um, you were wounded during the mission" John said, "You're been unconscious for days now, had us worried sick" Beckett said.

"Why can't I remember anything?" Michael asked, "We don't know yet. Hopefully we'll learn more as we conduct further tests" Beckett replied.

"And in the meantime, I can assure you that we will give you the best possible care to help in your recovery" Weir said. Later on that day, me, Teyla, John, Weir, Carson and Doctor Kate heightmeyer were talking in the conference room.

"He said I was familiar to him. He asked if we were friends" Teyla said, "How did you respond?" Weir asked, "I said we were. After everything he has been through, I thought some positive news could not hurt" Teyla said.

"I think you're right. Stabilization is the first critical stage in his psychological treatment. He's doing quite well so far, but it's important we do what we can to ease his recovery" Heightmeyer said, "What's the next stage?" I asked.

"Integration into the community, followed by relation development" she replied, "How is he doing physically?" Weir asked Carson, "Excellent. Vitals normal. All he needs is a bit of physical therapy to regain muscle tone and coordination" Beckett replied.

"Do you think he's ready to be released?" Weir asked, "I do" Beckett replied, "I don't think that's such a good idea. We still don't know if there are any residual effects he might be carrying around" I said.

"What do you think, Doctor? Is he ready to join the community?" Weir asked, "A change of scenery could be very beneficial to him" Heightmeyer replied.

"Alright then. Release him" Weir said, about 3 days went by and things were still a little weird around Michael. I had a feeling that he knew that people were keeping things from him but he wasn't quite sure about it yet.

Me, John, and Ronon were walking through the hallways and we saw Michael, "Lieutenant" John said, "Colonel" Michael replied, "Where you off to?" I asked, "My quarters. Doctor Beckett gave me some pills, help me get some sleep. Thought I'd give 'em a try" Michael said.

"No alcohol or heavy machinery" John said smiling, "Excuse me?" Michael said confused, "Nothing. Sleep well" John said, "Hey, Ronon. Um. I don't know what happened between us in the past, but if I ever did anything to hurt or upset you, I just wanted to say that.. I'm sorry" Michael said.

"Ronon, shake the man's hand" John said when Michael put his hand out, "I don't think so" Ronon said, "He's trying to bury the hatchet. It's not a bad idea, don't you think?" John said, "I gotta go" Ronon said.

"Look, I just wanna know" Michael said, Ronon punches Michael hard in the face, instinctively, Michael punches back at him, Ronon ducked the punch and hits him hard in the stomach.

"Knock it off! Knock it off" John said, Ronon walked away and so did Michael. Me and John were left standing there, confused. Well, at least I was, I knew Ronon didn't like Michael but damn I never thought he would have done that.

The next day, me, John and Weir went to Michaels room and he was on his feet and turned the laptop around to show us one of the videos we had taped of his transformation, "You lied to me. I'm a Wraith" Michael said, "You were a Wraith, yes. Michael please" I said.

"Don't call me that. That's not my name" Michael said, "Alright, take it easy" John said moving in front of me and putting his hand on his holstered pistol.

"If you would let us explain?" Weir asked, "Go ahead. Explain. But no more lies" Michael said angrily, "Aright. This is what we know of the Wraith. They evolved from a creature that we call the iratus bug. Now that bug began taking on characteristics of the humans it was feeding on and, over time, became the Wraith that we know now. So Doctor Beckett has developed a drug" Weir said.

"It's a retrovirus designed to suppress the iratus bug elements of the Wraith genetic code, leaving only the human aspects behind. It took some time to perfect but we finally achieved a viable drug, which we then decided to test" I said.

"The injections? Insulin?" Michael asked, "Not insulin. I'm sorry. You see, once the retrovirus was administered and the transformation begun, another drug was needed to prevent the Wraith elements from returning. It's actually a combination of drugs which unfortunately require a daily injection" Beckett said when he showed up.

"So what are you saying that-that being a Wraith is some kind of disease, something you think you can cure? What gives the right to do this to me?" Michael said.

"We're at war. The Wraith will stop at nothing to kill every one of us. And we'll stop at nothing to make sure that doesn't happen" John said, "You made up everything: My name, the photograph of my parents" Michael said.

"It was my decision to keep the truth from you" Weir said, "Why?" Michael asked angrily, "For a while, we were concerned that if you were told, you may react the way you are now" Weir replied.

"The whole point was to erase any trace of Wraith inside you, not to keep reminding you of it. And trust me, you're a helluva lot better off now than you were before" John said.

"You sense we're telling the truth" I said knowing that was going through his head, no matter how much he didn't want to believe us, he knew it was true. I wasn't sure what was gonna happen now but I knew that as soon as I knew everything and everyone was safe again that I was gonna tell John I told you so.

We were all in the conference room. "This whole thing was a bad idea" Ronon said, "No, it wasn't. The retrovirus works that much is clear. Just look at the guy. I few can figure out how to deploy this as a biological weapon, it's possible that we can hit entire hive ships and turn them into humans" John said.

"That's still a ways off, and I've let to develop an effective long term dose to keep the Wraith elements suppressed for a lifetime" Beckett said, "But the point is, we are getting closer" Weir said.

"You know, you may be able to make him look like a human, talk like a human, but he'll still be a Wraith. Nothing you do will ever change that" Ronon said, I look at John, I agreed with Ronon.

Doctor Heightmeyer confirmed he believes he's still experiencing Wraith compulsions. Is there anything more you can do to help suppress them?" Weir asked, "I don't know. It could merely be a psychological manifestation" Beckett said, "Maybe we s-hould up his dose" John said as everyone looks at him, "Yeah, I know you said give it more time, but now that he knows what's going on, things might start going from bad to worse" he finished.

"I agree" Weir said, "He's due for his next injection now. I could go ahead and increase the dosage, monitor him closely" Beckett said, "Let's just hope he agrees to take it" I said, "Well, if he doesn't, we'll have to insist. Who knows, maybe another big dose might wipe his memory clean again" John said.

"And then what? We start the lies all over again?" I asked, walking out, I ran into Sergeant Cole, "Where did you come from?" He asked, "Talking about what we are going to do about Michael. Where are you headed?" I replied, "To get Michael, do you want to join me?" Cole asked.

"No, I'll pass" I replied walking off, about 20 minutes later, I got called on the radio from Weir saying to meet them in the conference room.

"We can't keep him here, even locked up. It's too dangerous" Weir said, "We can take him to the Alpha site. We'll sedate him first so he won't know where it is" John said, "And then what?" I asked.

"Continue with the drug treatments" Weir replied, "Continue?" I asked, "Doctor Beckett was about to start increasing the dosage. Hopefully that will be effective in eliminating any remaining Wraith impulses" Weir said.

"Why are we even talking about this? He killed one of your people. Your experiment didn't work. We should kill him right now" Ronon said, "We can't kill him, Ronon. We're the ones who put him in this position" Heightmeyer said, "Hold on a minute, Doc. If we hadn't given him the retrovirus, he'd still be Wraith. We wouldn't think twice about killin him" John said.

"But we did give him the retrovirus. We made him human. Now we have the responsibility to treat him as we would any other" Teyla said but Ronon interrupted "He's not human. He's a Wraith" Ronon said.

"Carson, what do you think? Is it worth continuing with these treatments?" Weir asked, "I, uh. I don't know. I suppose it's worth seeing how he fares with the increased dosage" Beckett replied, "I agree. We've come too far with this just to abandon it now" Weir said.

John and me were walking to get geared up to take Michael to the Alpha site, when we got there, I turned to him and looked at him, "what?" he asked, "I didn't say anything, John" I replied, "But your thinking about something, talk to me" he said walking over to me. "I told you this was a bad idea. But you didn't listen to me like always" I said, "I know and I'm gonna make this right again" John said.

About 2 hours later, we were all in the conference room again, talking about what happened on the Alpha site. Michael had used his mind powers to have Teyla break him free and then kidnapped her and dialed another address and took off, lucky Teyla wrote the gate address down for John and Ronon and they found her safe and sound.

"He had completely transformed back into a Wraith?" I asked, "Not completely, but well on his way" John replied, "His reversion occurred at a much more accelerated rate than we anticipated" Beckett said, "Unfortunately, his memory of what we did to him remain intact" Teyla said, "I shoulda killed him when I had the chance" Ronon said, "He's right. We are totally screwed. Not only has our dear lieutenant rejoined the Wraith, but he's taken with him the knowledge that Atlantis still exists" I said.

"God knows what type of intel he was able to pick up during his stay" John said, "They will send another way of hive ships" Teyla said, "Probably already on their way" Ronon said, "And this time, I'm guessing they're not gonna fall for the whole invisibility trick" McKay said, "We need to come up with a new defense plan" I said, "We're gonna need more fire power" John said.

We all went our different ways after being filled in, knowing that the Wraith could be on their way right now, scared the living crap out of me and I could tell that John was very worried too but he was gonna be strong for me and for everyone else on this base because that's what he did all the time. It wasn't until we were alone in our room that he actually showed that he was actually worried about Michael being back in Wraith hands.

Chapters 33 Hot?

John wanted me to come with the team to check out a planet that had dialed us for help, we were standing in control room on the planet, looking at the view, I look over to McKay and he seemed to be more interested in Norena than the view.

"Impressive" John said, "Hmm!" McKay said, "This is our central control room" Norena replied, "The austerity of the facility suggests that it was built during the height of war" I said.

"It is well beyond our science. My skills are rudimentary at best" Norena said, "Ah, don't be so hard on yourself. It took Doctor McKay years to figure out all things Ancient and he still doesn't completely understand" John said, "I have a very firm grasp of Ancient technology" McKay said defensively, "You're blow up entire planets, Rodney" John said, "That wasn't my fault!" McKay said, "Well, it didn't do it by itself!" John replied.

After John and McKay finished their little child fight, an older man came in, "Are these our guests?" he asked, "yes, chancellor. Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, Doctor Rodney McKay, Doctor Alexandra Wilson, Teyla Emmagan, and Ronon Dex. Chancellor Laikos" Norena replied, "Welcome to Taranis" Laikos said.

"Thank you" I said, "And thank you for finally answering our calls for assistance. We tried several addresses from the database but were beginning to wonder if anyone could hear us" Laikos said, "Sorry about that. Um, we like to keep a low profile" John said, "So as not to attract the attention of the Wraith" Teyla said, "I see. Well, hopefully you can help us. Our shield generator has been giving us trouble for some time now. Our knowledge of the technology is limited, and the Ancestors regrettably neglected to leave behind instruction manuals" Laikos said.

McKay laughed derisively, "Actually they did. You probably just couldn't understand.." McKay said, "The good news is you found our address. I'm sure we can fix whatever needs fixing" John said, "And by we, he means me, so shall we get started?" McKay asked, "I'm sure I could learn a lot from you, Doctor" Norena said, "Oh! Well, I'm sure I can learn; um let's start here, shall we?" McKay asked, "In the meantime, perhaps you'd like a tour of the facility" Laikos said, "Lead the way" I said.

Later on, we were in a elevator and the door open and we exited it, "Ohh! My ears just popped!" John said, "We are deep underground. The ancestors constructed an extensive system of corridors and tunnels throughout the facility and beyond. It was by following such a tunnel beneath our nearest settlement that we discovered this facility" Laikos said, there was a loud rumbling and the complex shock violently. "What was that?" I asked, "Oh, just a tremor. Nothing to be concerned with. Uh, please, this way" Laikos replied.

"This is main hangar" Laikos said, "Hangar? For what?" John asked, "Mere description would be inadequate" Laikos replied, he waved his hand past a standard ancient door panel and the door opened, he leads us inside, we walk to a balcony , mine and John's jaws drop.

"I see what you mean!" John said, we see an ancient ship, its way bigger than the Daedalus and looks so much like the Aurora. Me and John went back to Atlantis to talk to Weir about the people of the planet and the ship.

"It's an aurora class warship. Obviously the Ancients built more than one of them" John said, "Why didn't we become aware of it at the same time our sensors picked up the Aurora?" Weir asked, "It's damaged, probably form the war with the Wraith" I replied, "Beyond repair?" Weir asked.

"I don't know. Their scientists or at least the folks who call themselves scientists have been working on it for years but its way out of their league. They know how to turn things on and off, but as far as fixing problems" John said.

"Well, Rodney should still have the technical specs you brought back from the Aurora mission" Weir said, "I told him to take a look at them but first I want him to fix the, uh, shield generator, build some goodwill with these people" John said, "Good idea. Hopefully we can establish an alliance with them. A ship like that" Weir said, 'Would come very much in hardy now that the Wraith are probably on their way, I know. Uh, we are gonna get back there now, uh make sure McKay's not distracted" John said.

"Distracted?" Weir asked, "Ah, well, the lead scientist, uh, she's very, um" John said, "hot?" Weir asked, "I was gonna say attractive. But McKay is acting very, uh" John said, "Smitten?" Weir asked, "I was gonna say pathetic" John said.

"Wait. I should head back with you and begin negotiations with the Taranan leader. What's he like?" Weir asked, "He is not attractive" I said, me and John got back to the control room on the planet and walked up to McKay.

"How goes it, Rodney?" John asked, "Uh, I was just, uh, still running diagnostics" McKay replied, "Still? Thought you would have had that fixed. If you want, um, Alex can, I'm sure she could" John said, "I can handle it, thank you! What are you doing back so soon? I mean, I told you this might take some time" McKay said, "Elizabeth wanted to talk to the chancellor see if we can establish relations with these good people" I said.

"That would be wonderful" Norena said


	17. Chapter 1 He didn't want to talk to me

Chapter 1 He didn't want to speak to me

Things were going great, and we were able to go back to Earth after a year of being away from home, it felt nice to be back. First we had the meeting then we could all go see family members if we wanted to. I wanted to go see my dad and my brother; they live in Colorado Springs so me and John over down. We got to my dad's house and at first I didn't know if I could get out of the car.

John looked at me, "What's wrong?" he asked, "Nothing, I just don't know what to say" I replied, "I'm sure, you can think of something" he said. John talked me to getting out of the car; I hopped out and started walking up to the door.

I was about to knock when my dad opened the door and hugged me. I smiled and started crying, it was so great to see my dad again. We just sat there, talking about random things that we didn't really care about. Then my dad looked at John, "So who is this fellow?" he asked.

"This is Lieutent Colonel John Sheppard, he's my boyfriend" I replied, "Nice to meet you, sir" John said.

"I'm not a sir, so you can call me David" my dad said, "Sorry David. Nice to meet you" John replied.

"Nice to meet you too. You must be a smart, tough man to be able to handle my girl" My dad said.

"I'm very lucky to be with Alexurda" John said, "Alex, john. Not Alexurda" I said. I always hated it when people call me Alexurda, for as long as I can remember I've been called Alex. I figured John was just doing it for my dad, even though my dad never had a problem with me being called Alex.

We spent a couple of hours with my dad, Jason came home but he didn't even look at me or talk to me. He didn't want to speak to me. I and John left to go back to the base; we ate dinner at black bear cafe. I just sat there in our room on the base thinking about how Jason didn't even want to look at me.

I was trying to figure out what I had done that was so bad where my own twin brother didn't want to talk to me. John thought I was just been a drama queen about it but I wasn't. My brother didn't want to look or talk to me. I couldn't find anything that I had done that was so bad.

I was the only sibling he had, we grew up together, went through hard times together. We were there for each other, every step of the way but now he wasn't there for me. My dad was but I wanted Jason to be there for me too. A week passed way to quickly, so then next thing I knew we were getting back on the ship to go back to Atlantis.

I couldn't wait to see that blue ocean and the city again. A month just stuck on the ship was going to be hell for me. John had new men to train during the time we spent on the Deadulas. I spent most of my time with McKay and Zelenka.

One night, me and John couldn't sleep so we went to the mess hall, Weir was there.

"Hey, what are you doing up so late?" Weir asked, "Couldn't sleep. Must be the, uh, burden of command- you know, ever since I was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel" John replied.

"Alright, John. It's been almost a month. When are you going to stop trying to bringing that up in every single conversation?" I asked.

"You two gotta understand. There are a lot of people in the Air Force who never thought I'd make it past Captain!" John replied.

"Well obviously the people whose opinions matter the most thought otherwise" Weir said, "What about you, what are you still doing up?" John asked.

"I think I got used to falling asleep to the sound of the ocean" Weir replied.

"Well, McKay says we're only at the edge of the Pegasus galaxy. You'll be fine once we get back to Atlantis. You know, it's funny. I spent the past year wondering if I'd ever see earth again and as soon as I got there" I said.

"I know how you feel. It was extremely convenient to be able to step through the gate and be at Stargate Command in an instant, and now this feels extremely in convenient" Weir replied.

"It must be the eighteen days cooped up in the ship to get back" I said, "Well until we find another ZPM to power the Earth gate, that's just the way it's gonna have to be" John said.

"Doctor Weir, Colonel Sheppard, Mss. Wilson. There's been an accident" one the airman said.

Me, John and Weir arrived at where Carson was bending over a man laying on the floor, "That's Doctor Monroe. What happened?" I asked.

"I don't know, but he's dead. Alright, one, two, three. Carry on." Beckett said, "How did he die?" Caldwell asked.

"I'm not a hundred percent certain, but there were burn marks on his fingertips" Beckett replied.

"Obviously there was a short. Doors open, circuits are charred" John said, "There's not enough juice in those circuits to kill anyone. Doctor?" Caldwell said.

"I'll know more once I've had a chance to examine the body more thoroughly" Beckett replied, "Do you know what he was working on?" Weir asked.

"It was computer diagnostics, strictly routine. I've got security camera footage" McKay said, "What happened?" Weir asked.

"I don't know, it's a camera malfunction" McKay said as he played the footage again, we see Monroe sitting at the console, getting up to work on another part. He reaches over to touch a panel and then the footage goes statically.

"Right before he was killed? Interesting coincidence" John said.

"Actually, I think it makes sense. Colonel Caldwell was right, there's not enough 'juice' in those circuits to kill someone, at least not normally" I said.

"What are you thinking?" Weir asked, "It's possible there was some sort of isolated power surge in this section. That would explain the lost camera, the malfunctioning door" I replied.

"So, when the door didn't respond, he took out the panel to bypass the circuits and received a fatal jolt?" Caldwell asked.

"Like she said, it's possible. Look, I recommend we drop out of hyperspace, run a full diagnostic on the power distribution systems" McKay replied.

"No, if we drop out now, we risk being detected" Caldwell said, "That's true. I just think if we" McKay said.

"We'll be back in Atlantis in less than two days. You can do your diagnostic then" Caldwell said interrupting.

"Colonel, are you sure that's right?" Weir asked, "With all due respect, Doctor, you got back to Earth through the Stargate. This is my third trip on the Deadulas between galaxies" Caldwell replied.

"I understand that, but this ship is relatively new. There might be some problems..."Weir was saying.

"Doctor. A word please?" Caldwell interrupting. Caldwell wanted me to go help McKay and Hermiod in Engineering.

"If I may be so bold, what exactly are we looking for?" Hermiod asked, "Any indication that somebody's been tampering with the ship's computers" McKay replied.

"Perhaps you could be more specific" Hermiod said, "Not really, no" McKay said, "What was that?" I asked.

"Nothing" Hermiod replied, "Look, just check the major systems, propulsion, navigation, life support. Look for anything out of the ordinary. Once we've checked out the power distribution system, maybe we can figure out what caused the power spike" McKay said.

John walked in, "How's it going, Alex?" John asked, "It's going to take a while" Hermiod replied, John was staring at him, "Don't stare, he hates it when people stare" I said.

"Am I the only one who thinks it's strange we're working with an alien?" John asked, "Intergalactic hyperdrive technology's kind of new to us, so we need his help" I replied.

"Is he supposed to be naked like that?" John asked, I roll my eyes at him and look at the technician working nearby us.

McKay looks at me and makes me and Lindstrom leave the room, "Ok, let's speed this up, you take the logs and I'm gonna take a look at...junction box. I got nothing you?" I asked.

"Uh, give me a second...wait a minute" Lindstrom repiled, "What?" I asked, "I think I got something here" Lindstrom replied.

"Well, what?" I asked, at the moment, alarms sound and coolant starts spraying from the ceiling. "Coolant leak! We've gotta get out of here" Lindstrom yells but then cries out in pain as he is burnt.

"Lindstrom! Lindstrom! Lindstrom! Are you alight?" I asked, I see him and he's coughing. I had activated the combs to the compartment.

"Yeah, I'm ok. How am I going to get out of here?" he asked, "I don't know. Just sit tight. We're going to need to shut down the leak and vent the" I was saying. "Alex?" Lustrum asked.

I can still see Lindstrom but I can't hear him anymore, "Lindstrom! Lindstrom, are you reading me? Lindstrom! Are you reading me?" I asked over and over again. I finally see that he's in an airlock and the alarms sound saying that it was opening.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked, "Alex, help me!" Lindstrom yelled, "Lindstrom! Lindstrom!" I yelled as I stare in horror as lindstrom silently screams Alex, help me.

I see the airlock doors open and linstrom blown into space, "Oh my god!" I said. Beckett, John, Weir and Caldwell arrived.

Beckett has me holding an oxygen mask to my face, I lower it. "I already told you, I'm fine" I said, "She's right, it appear he didn't inhale enough toxins to cause any permanent damage, although a few more seconds of exposure would have been quite a different story" Beckett said.

"Thank you, Doctor. I assume this time we can definitely rule out random malfunctions?" Caldwell asked, "Lindstrom found something, he was trying to tell me what is when the leak happened" I replied.

"What were you looking for?" Weir asked, "We were trying to trace the source of the power spike that killed Doctor Monroe" I replied.

"Who else knew what we're doing?" Caldwell asked, "A lot of people knew we were running diagnostics but no one knew we were in that particular room at that exact moment" I replied.

"Security cameras. If the person who killed Monroe was able to get into the system to erase evidence, there's no reason he couldn't do the same thing to keep tabs on our investigation" John said.

"Assuming it's a he" I said, "How many personal on board have the technical skills to do something like this?" Caldwell asked.

"Almost everybody! That's what you get for assembling a team of brilliant scientists" I repiled, "I can't believe it would be one of own people, isn't it possible there's an intruder on board?" Weir asked.

"We used the lifesigns detctor to do a head count. We didn't get any extra singals" Caldwell repiled.

"Well, hibernating Wraith, they can avoid detection" Weir repiled, "We've seen that tactic before. Beam in, lay own, then look for the chance to cnoduct sabotage" John said.

"That was on Atlantis. It's been at least two months since this ship encountered the Wraith. There's no way one of them could have stowed on board for that long" Caldwell repiled.

"He's right. They did a full dcontamination sweep back on Earth. They would have found something" I said.

"Alright then. As of this moment I want our civilian personnel confined to their quarters" Caldwell said.

"What?" Weir said, "Persent company excepted, of course" Caldwell repiled, "Uh, Colonel, with all due respect, some of those people could be extremely helpful in the investigation" I said.

"I'm sorry, Wilson, but I can't trust any of them for the simple reason that I didn't have any say in thier selection. Somebody else was in charge of the process" Caldwell said. Me and Hermiod were still working on what had happened, when McKay walked in.

"Doctor McKay. You are just in time" Hermiod said, "For what? What are you looking at?" McKay asked.

"The sabotage we've been searching for" I said, "It's a virus" McKay said, "How perceptive of you" Hermiod repiled.

"Where did you find it?" McKay asked, "One of the navigational computers. There is evidence of it in communications and some of the propulsion systems as well" I said.

"So it's spreading" McKay said, "Yes, and changing" Hermiod repiled, "what do you mean?" McKay asked.

"It appears to be rewriting itself as it grows. It is unlike any human-engineered programme I have ever encountered" Hermiod repiled.

"Really? Clear the console, I need to be there" McKay said, "What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm just checking something. I'm sure it is impossible. Crap!" McKay said, "What did you do?" Hermiod asked.

"I just ran it through a translation programme, it's Wraith" McKay repiled, "Crap' indeed" Hermiod repiled.

Me and McKay went to go explain what we had found to everybody else, "A wraith computer vrius" Weir said.

"It was probably downloaded during our last little encounter" McKay said, "Well, if it's been there all this time, why are we just noticing it now?" Caldwell asked.

"Well, in all likelihood it was transmitted in a compressed format, it took a while to unfold, to spread to the point where it could affect our systems. I think it probably happened during the return flight to Earth. Since then, it's been dormant, waiting for some kind of a trigger" I said.

"Like what?" John asked, "Possibly the fact that we're once again in close proximity to Wraith territory? I think it was ultimately desigened to take control of the navigational system, fly the ship right to them" I said.

"If they get their hands on the Daedalus, they'll not only have access to the intergalactic hyperdrive technology but they'll have all the navigation data that'll lead them straight to Earth" Weir repiled.

"That's what they wanted all along. A new feeding ground" I said, "That still doesn't explain who killed Doctor Monroe and Doctor Lindstrom" Caldwell repiled.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you. It was the virus" McKay said, "Look, it's an A.I, an artificial intelligence. It can think for itself, adapt itself to new situations" I said.

"Protect itself" John said, "Ecactly. It knew that Lindstrom and Monroe were gonna expose it, so it got rid of them" Mckay said.

"Can it take over the whole ship?" Weir asked.

"Not entriely. You have to remeber that there are hundreds of individual computers on board. A lot of them are interconnected so we tend to think of them as one big machine but that's not really the case. There are dozens of back-ups and redundancies, and some systems like life support are deliberately isolated" I said.

"So they can't kill us all by venting the atmosphere?" John asked.

"That was the good news. The bad news is that some of the more complez systems like navigation and propuslsion require a certain amount of interconnectivty to function properly. In all likelihood, the vrius has spread so far through those systems that to isolate it will make the ship impossible to fly. Until we figure out how to get rid of it, we're stuck here" I said.

An alarm starts beeping, "Colonel Caldwell, sir. We just began broadcasting a distress call" the bridge lieutenant said, "What are you talking about?" Caldwell asked.

"It just came on by itself, sir" he repiled, "Shut it down" Caldwell said, "I'm locked out, sir" he said.

"It's the virus. That's what I mean about adapting itself to new situations. It doesn't have enough control yet to fly us to the Wraith so instead it's calling the Wraith to us and right now, we are sitting ducks" McKay said.

Me and McKay were working on stopping the virus when John came over to me, "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Theroetically we should be able to cut power to the long range transmitter. You won't be able to send messages, but, uh neither will the virus" McKay said.

"Theiretucally" John said, "Well, it's pretty smart. So far, whatever we've tried, it's been one step ahead of us. Try it now" I said.

"It's no good, sir. We're still broadcasting" the Lieutenant said, "Alright, that leaves us one choice. We need to do a full systems shutdown. We'll wipe everything, reboot, load from back-ups" McKay said.

"WIll that really work?" Weir asked, "Absolutely...I think" McKay repiled, "How long will it take?" Caldwell asked.

"Well it's not like the ship's got an on/off button" McKay repiled, "We need some time to prepare, say an hour,, maybe two?" I said.

"And while we wait, we increase our chances of being detected. We need to shut off the transimmter array now" John repiled, "do you have an idea?" Caldwell asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do...But you're not gonna like it" John said looking at me as he said the last part.

Of course Johns plan was taking a F-302 out to shoot the Array. "Alright, Colonel, we've evacuated all sections in the vicinity of the array and sealed the bulkheads" Caldwell said.

"Understood" John repiled, "All personnel, prepare fro impact" Caldwell said, "What's our status?" I asked.

"Transmitter is offline. Distress singal has been disabled" the bridge lieutenant repiled, "Well done, Colonel. Return to the ship" Caldwell said.

"With pleasure. Uh, there's a problem. My controls aren't responding" John repiled, "Say again?" Caldwell said.

"Well, the Daedalus is behind me. I can't seem to turn around and..a lot more, we've picking up speed" John repiled.

"I should have seen this coming. The navigational software on the F-302 is compatible with our sublight system which has already been infected. The virus must have uploaded itself onto his ship" I said.

"What about the transport beam?" Weir asked, "That would work. Those systems are still clean" McKay repiled.

"Do it" Caldwell said, "John, this is Elizabeth. Rodney seems to think the virus has taken over your ship, so we're gonna try to beam you out" Weir said.

"Acknowledged" John said, "Stand by" Weir said, "Uh, small problem" McKay said, "What?" I asked.

"THe transport beam is tied to an Asgard sensor. It's what we use to lock on to targets" McKay said.

"So?" Weir asked, "So, so, that particular piece of equipment was located in the array that we just destroyed. The key is to lock onto his radio singal" McKay repiled.

"That's what they used to do on the Prometheus before they had Asgard sensors" I said, "You'd better do it quick, becuase in about three minutes he's gonna be out of range" Caldwell repiled.

"John, we've run into a slight snag. Rodney and I just has to make a few adjustments before we can get you out of there" I said.

"Ok" John repiled nervously, "Don't worry, we're not about to give up on you just yet" Weir said.

"Colonel? John, are you still there?" I asked, "Uh.."John said, "We're gonna use your radio to target the transport beam" Weir said.

"We'll have you out of there in just a minute" I said, "Sounds good. So I'm still in range, right?" John asked.

McKay turns off his radio and turns to Weir, "Truth is, this has never been tested from this distance" McKay said.

"Rodney seems to think you'll be ok" Weir said, "Well that's good" John repiled.

"We're ready. We're beaming him directly to the bridge" McKay said, I turn to face the front of the bridge and see John appear.

"Are you aliright?" I asked, "Yeah. Two arms, tenn fingers...I'll check the rest later" John said, "Alright, Doctor, I've had enough of this. I'd like to have my ship back, please" Caldwell said.

"Move! Yes. Do you mind?" McKay said almost bumping into John, "This is what I do when I have problems with my laptop. I turn it off, and then I turn it on again" John said.

"I think this is a little bit more complicated than that" I said, "I'm just saying that if we're taking a page from the John Sheppard Book of Computer Repair, we're really desperate" John repiled.

"Alright, Colonel, we're ready" McKay said, "Thank you. All personnel, this is Colonel Caldwell. Prepare for a full system shutdown" Caldwell said.

"And..."McKay said, as we shut down all the consloes and the ship goes dark.

"Engine room, what's our status?" Caldwell asked, "All systems are functioning normally. No sign of the virus" I said, "Looks like it worked, Colonel" McKay repiled.

"May I suggest we vacate this system? Our current position may well have been compromised" Hermiod said, "Can you give me hyperdrive?" Caldwell asked.

"That will take longer to get back online" Hermiod said, "I can get you sublights" I said.

"Damnit!" McKay said, as soon as Caldwell reported that we were going to wrong away, "Engine room, What's happening?" Caldwell asked.

"the virus, its back. IT must haev full control of sublight navigation" I said, "I thought all systems were clean" John said.]

"They were. When we did the reboot there was no sign of the virus. This shouldn't be happening" I said.

"Sir, we've got another problem. IT's our new heading, we're on a collision course with the nearest star" the Pilot said. John and Weir stayed in the Engine room as me and McKay worked on getting rid of the virus. I didn't understand the coding of the vrius so haking into it wasn't going to work.

"THe virus returned almost immediately after we restarted the system" Hermiod said, "At the risk of repeating myself, I thought you said we wiped it out" John said.

"We did. We must have missed something" McKay said, "And it's gonna crash us into a sun" Weir said.

"Not exactly. A more precise calculation of our heading shows that we will not collide with the star, but rather make a close approach near its coronashphere. The ship will survive, but the radiation will kill everyone on board" Hermiod said.

"Why kill everyone if they already have full navigational control?" Weir asked, "The virus has access to our database. It knows our tactis, our tendencies" I said.

"They know we'd destroy the ship before we'd allow it to fall into wraith hands" John said.

"Wait a minute. There was a situation similar to this back at Stargate Command. I remeber reading the report. An alien entity took control of the base computer, so they did a systems shutdown to destroy it. It survived by uploading itself into a MALP" I said.

"OK, we don't have any MALPs" Weir repiled, "No, we've got a bay full of F-302s. We already know the virus can upload itself into the ship's navigational computer, but it have used any one of those ships as a hiding place while we wiped the Daedalus systems clear. It's the only possible explanation" McKay said.

"So?" Weir asked, "So, we physically pull the memory strage modules from the 302s, we do another shutdown, that should do the trick" I said. "Contat the bridge and tell Caldwell we're on our way to the bay now" John said as I followed them.

Me, John and McKay make our way to the figher bay and we reach the access door and it closes in front of us. I pushed the button but nothing happened.

"It's not working" McKay said, "Lets try another way" John repiled, the another door we try closes too, "It's the virus, it must know what we're trying to do" I said.

"How's that possible?" John asked, "It's thinking ahead, anticipating our moves, like in a chess match" McKay repiled, "Well, I hope you're good at chess" John said.

"I don't get to play much, it's tough finding challenging opponents" McKay repiled, "Bridge, this is Sheppard. Are there any open pahts to the 302 bay?" John asked.

"That's a negative, Colonel. Looks like the entire section's been sealed off. We've tried to override it but we're not having any luck" Caldwell repiled.

"You're gonna have to beam us in" John said, "Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa. Wait a minute. The asgard beam wasn't designed to beam from one point to another point inside a ship. We could end up rematerialised half inside a wall" McKay said.

"Well, we're just gonna have to take that chance" I said, "Right! Of course! Why not?" McKay said.

Me and John steps next to McKy and he scruches himself down to make himself as small as possible. "Colonel, we're ready" John said.

"Stand by. Hermiod says we need to make a few adjustments first. Activiating transport beam now" Caldwell said.

"It worked!" McKay said, we walk forward and the alarms sound. Lights by the bay doors which exit into space start to flash.

"Oh boy!" I said, we stand there waiting for death to us but nothing happens, "We should really really be dead right now" McKay said.

"I don't feel dead" John said, "Colonel Sheppard, Doctor McKay, can you hear me?" Hermiod asked, "Yeah, we're reading you" John repiled.

"I have raised the figher bay shield in order to prevent the atmoshpere from escaping. However, the virus has invaded the system and it is only a matter of time before it gains control. Therefore, I suggest you complete your task as quickly as possible" Hermiod said.

We all run around pulling the modules, John was in one, McKay was in one and I saw one that no one had got so I got it. "Colonel Sheppard, how's it coming?" Caldwell asked, "We're getting there" John said. As we see the shields start to go down, I jump into a figher. I see John and McKay jump into one at the same time too. I sighed knowing that John was still alive.

"Colonel Sheppard, come in...Colonel Sheppard, do you read me?...Colonel Sheppard, do you read?" Caldwell asked, "This is Sheppard, we're OK. We managed to get into the last two F-302 before we lost atmosphere. Any chance you can beam us out?" John asked.

"Sorry, John, we lost the transport beam. You're gonna have to sit still for a while" Weir said, "We pulled all the memory units. Another shutdown should work" I said.

I look over at John's 302 and smiled at him, he rolled his eyes and pointed at McKay, I laughed a little knowing that I would do the same if I was stuck in the same fighter plane as McKay. The lights go out and I started freaking out but I calm down knowing I told them to do another shut down. The lights come back on and I hear John's voice.

"This is Sheppard, what just happened?" John asked, "Stand by, we're trying to figure that out. It didn't work. We're still on course for the coronashpere" Caldwell said, "this thing is like a damned cockroach, you just can't kill it!" John said.

:This should have worked. We've disabled every navigational computer in this bay. There's nowhere else on the ship the virus could hide" McKay said.

"You're right, there's nwhere on the ship for it to hide, but we didn't get every computer" John repiled, "What are you talking about?" McKay asked.

"We missed one" John said, I think and then get what John was talking about, It was the F-302 he was flying eariler. I see John starting up the 302 him and McKay are sitting in and I radio over to him.

"John, what are you doing?" I asked, "It's the last F-302, Alex. THe one we left behind, and it's driving us" John said.

"You can't go after it" I said, "I'll be fine. I love you just in case anything happens know that I do love you and I have always loved you" John said signing off the radio as he flew the 302 out of the bay.

I didn't know what was going on, no one from the other parts of the bridge had radioed me and told me what was going on with John and McKay. I wanted to scream and cuss at someone for letting John do this but then I thought about everything I've learned about him and knew he would have done it one way or another.

About 20 minutes or so after John left, I heard Weirs voice over the radio, "John, can you read me?...Rodney, come in?" Weir asked.

"Daedalus, this is Sheppard, target is destroyed. I repeat, traget is destroyed. If you try one more shutdown, I think it might just work" John said.

"Well done, both of you. You had us a little worried there for a minute" Weir said, "Sorry about that" John said, "This is caldwell, we'll redezvous as soon as we've eradicated the virus once and for all" Caldwell said.

After finally getting the shields back up in the figher bay, I got out of the 302 that I jumped in when the shields went down and started walking towards the door. I see the door start to open and John walks in. He runs up to me and hugs me.

I was so happy to be back in his arms, we went back to the room we had and fell asleep for the rest of the day and the most of the next day. We finally got to Atlantis and we walked up to Teyla, who had be in charged of the city while we were all gone.

"Doctor Weir, Doctor McKay, Doctor Beckett, Doctor Wilson, welcome back and Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard! Congratulations" Teyla said.

"Thank you. Anything happen while we were gone?" John asked, "There has been no sign of the Wraith. It would appear that they continue to believe that Atlantis has been destroyed, but I understand that your trop was not so happily uneventful" Teyla said.

"No, not exactly" Weir said, "My nose is peeling! Do you have any sunshield?" McKay asked Beckett, "Yes Rodney" Beckett repiled, "Well, maybe we should get that" McKay said, "Yes, Rodney!" Beckett said.

"Any word from your offworld contacts?" John asked, "We have received several intelligence reports. However, as of yet there is no news of Lieutenant Ford" Teyla said.

"I'd like to read those reports when you've got moment" John said, "I thought you might, I prepard you this copy" Teyla said.

"Thank you! Ladies" John said as he heads off, "I am sorry your journey was so difficult" Teyla said, "Well, we got here, that's what counts" Weir said.

"Still, it must have been plesant to return to Earth. A chance to reunite with your friends and loved ones" Teyla said. Redek hurries over to us, "Doctor Weir. Doctor Weir, I'm glad you're back. We have several reports from around the city. Ever since we installed ZeePM, we've made many interesting discoveries" Zelenka said as he goes to hand her his report but me and Teyla stop him.

"Could this not wait? Doctor Weir has only just arrived" Teyla said, "I'm sorry, I.." he said, "No, That's fine, really" Weir said taking the report. Things started to get normal again, I started working with Major Lorne who I had met in school and hadn't seen him in years. I senced that John was a bit jealus of mine and Evan's relationship. I had sat down with John and talked to him about it, I made sure he knew he was the only one I wanted to be with.


End file.
